Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released first installment of the Q4 2008 GDP report showing a stunning contraction with GDP declining at an annual rate of -3.8%.Looking at the report more closely it’s easy to see that the quarter was a disaster overall with huge double-digit declines to Durable Goods, Imports (actually a benefit) and Exports as well as Fixed Investment.
Fixed investment provided significant drags on growth with non-residential investment declining -19.1% and residential investment declining -23.6%.
The following chart shows real residential and non-residential fixed investment versus overall GDP since Q1 2003 (click for larger version).
