The numbers: Construction spending fell 0.9% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.282 trillion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was a bigger decline than the median forecast of a 0.4% decline from economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

What happened: The downshift in spending in March was broad based, but housing took it on the chin. All residential construction was lower by 1.8% for the month, and 8.4% for the year.