Economics
ABC Reports No Change in Construction Backlog
Of the three sectors, only industrial backlog has grown in the past year.
The Construction Backlog Indicator reached 8.5 months in September, according to a survey by the Associated Builders and Contractors. The figure shows no change from the previous month. Since September 2024, backlog has fallen 0.1 months.
A main source of current “industry momentum” is data centers said Anirban Basu, chief economist at ABC, in a statement. “Approximately one in five contractors was under contract to work on a data center project in September. While that’s a slightly lower share than in August, contractors that have data center work had significantly higher backlog [12 months] than those who did not [8 months].”
By sector, commercial and institutional backlog and heavy industrial backlog have fallen by 0.4 and 1.3 months, respectively, since September 2024. Infrastructure backlog grew 1.6 months in the same time period.
ABC’s Confidence Index for September showed readings for each component—profit margins, staffing and sales—remained over 50, showing that survey participants expect business to grow in the coming months.
“Falling industrywide employment, a dearth of job openings and ongoing decreases in construction spending have not diminished ABC contractor member backlog or confidence,” said Basu. In addition to the high volume of data center construction, “public sector activity has held up far better than its private counterpart, and that is supporting elevated backlog in the infrastructure category.”
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