The construction market has enjoyed steady growth for several years. Most industry executives believe this growth will continue through 2016. But one sector that has been leading the recovery, petroleum, has suddenly hit a roadblock as plummeting oil prices have resulted in project postponements.
The ENR Construction Industry Confidence Index for the first quarter shows that, of the 305 executives of large construction and design firms responding to the survey, a majority believe the market is growing. The CICI index moved up a point, to a record 78 on a scale of 100, in the first-quarter survey, an indicator of a growth market.