Over the past few years, the second quarter has been a time of reckoning for ENR’s Construction Industry Confidence Index. In 2020, it dropped 20 points in Q2 as the full effects of the pandemic became apparent. Last year, the index jumped 17 points as industry executives were optimistic there was light at the end of the pandemic’s tunnel. And now in 2022, with fears of a recession looming, it has dropped 17 points below the Q1 level, to a 44 rating.
The index, also called CICI, measures executive sentiment about where the current market will be in the next three to six months and over a 12- to 18-month period, on a 0-100 scale. A rating above 50 shows a growing market. The measure is based on responses by U.S. executives of leading general contractors, subcontractors and design firms on ENR’s top lists to surveys sent between May 9 and June 27.