The construction industry is surprisingly collegial, considering how competitive it is. Contractors, designers and subcontractors regularly talk to one another, even to their intense rivals. As people in the industry share insights with each other about their particular markets, firms often ask about broader market conditions or about markets beyond their focus or geographic locale to see if their experience matches that of others around the country. With this in mind, ENR is introducing a new Construction Confidence Index survey.
The overall results should come as little surprise, as they mirror general surveys of the overall economy. Of those firms surveyed by ENR, 86% see the current construction market as “declining,” with another 13% seeing it “stable.” Only 11 out of 752 respondents saw the market as currently “improving.”