April 16, 2024
‘The persistent optimism among nonresidential construction contractors is astonishing’
March 2024
Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.2 months in March from 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted March 20 to April 3. The reading is down 0.5 months from March 2023.
View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.
Construction Backlog Indicator
Backlog is down over the past year for every region except for the Middle States, which now has the second largest backlog of any region. The South continues to have the largest backlog despite a large decline over the past year.
Construction Confidence Index
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales, profit margins and staffing levels increased in March. All three readings remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.
“Given headwinds such as high borrowing costs, emerging supply chain issues, project financing challenges and labor shortages, the persistent optimism among nonresidential construction contractors is astonishing,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Last month, contractors reported rising backlog and greater conviction regarding likely growth in sales, employment and profit margins.
“While certain readings are below year-ago levels, there was broad-based improvement in March,” said Basu. “For instance, in the category of profit margins, 32% of those surveyed in February expected improvement over the next six months. That share rose to nearly 34% in March, with only 24% hinting at near-term margin compression. That indicates that though costs of delivering construction services continue to rise, contractors collectively enjoy enough pricing power to support stable to rising margins. If interest rates begin to decline during the summer as is widely expected, confidence is likely to climb further.”
About ABC’s CBI and CCI
The reference months for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series were revised on May 12, 2020, to better reflect the survey period. CBI quantifies the previous month’s work under contract based on the latest financials available, while CCI measures contractors’ outlook for the next six months. View the methodology for both indicators.
Get Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) Data
The Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) offers quarterly United States industry-wide statistical reports of the volume of cold-formed steel (CFS) (in raw tons before processing) used to produce CFS products. Two reports are available:
- Quarterly Market Data Report, a statistical summary by region and application (structural and nonstructural products)
- Quarterly Nonresidential Volume Report, a statistical summary with comparative data for the nonresidential market and indicators of prevailing market sentiment
Get CFS reports at steelframing.org/market-data
Additional Resources
- CFS Framing Manufacturing Volume for 2023 Rises 9.7% from 2022 Levels, SFIA Says
- FAQ: What Are Resilient Channels, and What Is Their Purpose?
- SFIA Releases Guide to the Performance-Based Nonstructural Partition Selection of Metal Framing
- Sorting Apples from Oranges — Comparing Evaluation Services with Third-Party Certification
- SFIA Releases Updated Technical Guide with the Most Up-to-Date CFS Load and Span Tables in the Industry