The Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Backlog Indicator remained unchanged at 8.5 months from August to September and down 0.1 months since September 2024.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales declined in September, while the readings for profit margins and staffing both increased. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.
“Falling industrywide employment, a dearth of job openings and ongoing decreases in construction spending have not diminished ABC contractor member backlog or confidence,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “This stability primarily stems from two sources. First, public sector activity has held up far better than its private counterpart, which is supporting an elevated backlog in the infrastructure category. The second source of industry momentum is, unsurprisingly, data centers. Approximately 1 in 5 contractors was under contract to work on a data center project in September.”
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