Associated Builders and Contractors' Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.9 months in April from 8.7 in March, according to an ABC member survey conducted April 20 to May 3. The reading is 0.1 months higher than in April 2022.
After declining to a seven-month low in March, backlog rebounded in April due to strength in the infrastructure category. Regionally, backlog increased in the Northeast and West but fell in the South and middle states.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales and staffing moved higher in April, while the readings for profit margins inched lower. All three readings remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months.
“Based on ABC member sentiment, one would not be able to discern that interest rates are high, the nation’s banking sector is in tumult, politicians are arguing over the nation’s debt limit and recession fears remain pervasive,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Despite many headwinds and an active news cycle, contractors continue to express confidence in the near term.
“Still, there is some evidence of a shift,” said Basu. “With credit conditions tightening, expectations are that private construction is poised for weaker times ahead. Nonetheless, backlog expanded in April, as infrastructure contractors began to take on more public works projects. Moreover, despite rapidly rising compensation costs, more ABC contractors expect profit margins to expand as opposed to recede over the next six months, evidence of sufficiently strong demand for construction services to support pricing power.”
Related Stories
| Aug 25, 2014
An easy trick for minimizing construction delays
About one out of every three construction projects is behind schedule or over budget, according to the Construction Industry Institute's Assessment of Owner Project Management Practices and Performance survey. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Aug 21, 2014
Ranked: Top science and technology sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
HDR, Affiliated Engineers, and Skanska top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest S+T sector design and construction firms.
| Aug 21, 2014
Ranked: Top convention center AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, AECOM, and Hunt Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention center design and construction firms.
| Aug 21, 2014
Apartment construction hits 25-year high
The boost to apartment construction suggests that job gains are encouraging the creation of households.
| Aug 21, 2014
Strategies for providing great customer service
Customers are inherently inefficient and inconvenient to do business with, writes Customer Service Consultant Micah Solomon, in a recent Forbes post. That’s why he believes great customer service depends on understanding this. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Aug 21, 2014
Must See: Detroit's Beaux-Arts parking garage
An opulent Renaissance Revival building in downtown Detroit is being used as a parking garage.
| Aug 20, 2014
Construction backlog indicator reaches all-time high in second quarter
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) reached an all-time high in the second quarter of 2014. CBI improved 5.4 percent and currently stands at 8.5.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.
| Aug 18, 2014
Perkins+Will expands planning practice with strategic focus on underserved U.S. communities
The broadened focus is resulting in comprehensive, long-term plans that will guide new growth in places like Buffalo, N.Y., Kingston, R.I., and Brooklyn, N.Y.
| Aug 18, 2014
SPARK’s newly unveiled mixed-use development references China's flowing hillscape
Architecture firm SPARK recently finished a design for a new development in Shenzhen. The 770,700 square-foot mixed-use structure's design mimics the hilly landscape of the site's locale.