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Construction spending increased 0.5% in May, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

The increase brought outlays to $874.9 billion and followed a 0.1% rise in April that was originally reported as a 0.4% gain, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast a 0.6% increase, Bloomberg News reported.

Housing outlays increased 1.2% to $322.3 billion, and private non-residential projects declined by 1.4% to the lowest level since February 2012, Bloomberg reported.

Construction spending can boost demand for trucking services because spending increases the number of shipments of goods and building materials.