Associated Builders and Contractors reports today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to nine months in May from 8.8 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 17 to June 3. The reading is up one month from May 2021.
View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for May 2022.
Backlog in the infrastructure segment jumped from 8.7 months in April to 9.3 months in May, and the Northeast and South regions continue to outperform the Middle States and the West. Contractors with more than $100 million in annual revenues enjoyed the highest backlog, at 13.2 months.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels declined in May. The indices for sales and staffing remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months, while the reading for profit margins was exactly 50 for the month.
“It is simply remarkable that contractors continue to add to backlog amidst global strife, rising materials prices and ubiquitous labor force challenges,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Backlog is up in every segment over the past year, including in the somewhat shaky commercial category. The largest increase in backlog has been registered in the industrial segment. More American companies are committing to place additional supply chain capacity in the United States, with Intel and Ford representing particularly recent and noteworthy examples.
“For contractors, the challenge will continue to be the cost of delivering construction services,” said Basu. “The risk of severe increases in costs and substantial delays in delivery remains elevated given the volatility in input prices, the propensity of the labor force to shift jobs in large numbers and equipment shortages and delays. This ABC survey indicates that the proportion of contractors who expect that profit margins will expand over the next six months is declining, a reflection of lingering, worsening supply chain challenges.”
Note: The reference months for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series were revised on May 12, 2020, to better reflect the survey period. CBI quantifies the previous month’s work under contract based on the latest financials available, while CCI measures contractors’ outlook for the next six months.
Related Stories
| Nov 7, 2014
Tampa International Airport to Receive a Makeover
The extensive expansion project will cost $2.5 billion, with the first-phase being completed in three years.
| Nov 7, 2014
NORD Architects releases renderings for Marine Education Center in Sweden
The education center will be set in a landscape that includes small ponds and plantings intended to mimic an assortment of marine ecologies and create “an engaging learning landscape” for visitors to experience nature hands-on.
| Nov 6, 2014
Hines planning tall wood office building in Minneapolis
The Houston-based developer is planning a seven-story wood-framed office building in Minneapolis’ North Loop that will respect the neighborhood’s historic warehouse district look.
| Nov 6, 2014
Studio Gang Architects will convert power plant into college recreation center
The century-old power plant will be converted into a recreation facility with a coffee shop, lounges, club rooms, a conference center, lecture hall, and theater, according to designboom.
| Nov 5, 2014
The architects behind George Lucas' planned Chicago museum unveil 'futuristic pyramid'
Preliminary designs for the $300 million George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art have been unveiled, and it looks like a futuristic, curvy pyramid.
| Nov 4, 2014
Zaha Hadid's first building in Shanghai debuts
Sky SOHO is the third in a trilogy of SOHO China developments designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
| Nov 3, 2014
IIT names winners of inaugural Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize
Herzog & de Meuron's iconic 1111 Lincoln Road parking garage in Miami Beach, Fla., is one of two winners of the $50,000 architectural prize.
| Oct 31, 2014
Dubai plans world’s next tallest towers
Emaar Properties has unveiled plans for a new project containing two towers that will top the charts in height, making them the world’s tallest towers once completed.
Smart Buildings | Oct 29, 2014
SCAPE’s 'living breakwaters' resiliency development wins 2014 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
New York-based landscape architecture firm SCAPE won the Buckminster Fuller Institute’s 2014 Fuller Challenge, billed as socially responsible design’s highest award.
| Oct 27, 2014
Studio Gang Architects designs residential tower with exoskeleton-like exterior for Miami
Jeanne Gang's design reinvents the Florida room with shaded, asymmetrical balconies.