Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 9.2 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted Feb. 20 to March 6. The reading is 1.2 months higher than in February 2022.
Backlog rebounded in February and for the past four months has hovered around highs not seen since the start of the pandemic. The Southern region continues to post the highest backlog of any region and, as of February, has had at least 11 months of backlog in four of the previous five months.
View ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for February. View the historic Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales, profit margins and staffing levels increased in February. All three readings remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months.
“Despite a gloomy economic forecast and extraordinarily elevated borrowing costs, contractor backlog and confidence continue to rise,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This mirrors the broader economy, which has thus far proved resilient in the face of rising interest rates. While economic strength, particularly regarding labor demand, is surprising, interest rate increases typically take 12 to 18 months to affect the broader economy, and the first interest rate increase occurred in March 2022.
“While backlog remains at a historically elevated level, borrowing costs will continue to rise during the next several months, and contractors continue to struggle in the face of skilled labor shortages,” said Basu. “If economic momentum fades this year, as a majority of forecasters continue to predict, then backlog and confidence may decline, especially for contractors working predominantly on privately financed projects.”
Related Stories
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
A new military hospital invokes evidence-based design to create a LEED-certified facility for the nation’s soldiers and their families.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital
How a Building Team created a high-tech rehabilitation center for wounded veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
| May 3, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Rush University Medical Center
This fully integrated Building Team opted for a multi-prime contracting strategy to keep construction going on Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, despite the economic meltdown.
| May 3, 2012
U of Michigan team looking to create highly efficient building envelope designs
The system combines the use of sensors, novel construction materials, and utility control software in an effort to create technology capable of reducing a building’s carbon footprint.
| May 3, 2012
Best commercial modular buildings and marketing programs recognized
Judges scored entries on architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete.
| May 3, 2012
Zero Energy Research Lab opens at North Texas
The living lab—the only one of its kind in Texas—is designed to test various technologies and systems in order to achieve a net-zero consumption of energy.
| May 3, 2012
NSF publishes ANSI standard evaluating the sustainability of single ply roofing membranes
New NSF Standard provides manufacturers, specifiers and building industry with verifiable, objective criteria to identify sustainable roofing products.
| May 3, 2012
Gilbane to provide CM services for North Reading’s integrated middle/high school
The project scope includes a wastewater treatment plant, demolition of the existing high school and extensive athletic fieldwork.
