For the first time since Q1 of 2022, construction industry executives report a stable and slightly growing market on ENR’s Construction Industry Confidence Index (CICI) survey. The index vaulted up 10 points from Q4 2023, to a rating of 52. Nearly 65% of respondents see the current construction market as stable, with only 18.8% seeing a declining market. That latter number was 34.6% last quarter. Execs are also showing more faith in the economy as a whole. The economic index is also up 10 points, to a 48 rating this quarter.
The index 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 February 19 and March 25.