Construction industry leaders’ confidence rose in August, according to www.abc.org.
All three components increased for the month and remained above the diffusion index threshold of 50.
In August, the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Confidence Index increased from 55.2 to 55.9 for sales expectations; 57.5 to 59 for staffing levels; and 47.5 to 51.9 for profit margin expectations.
Additionally, ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator remained unchanged at 8.7 months in August.
“Despite the high risk of recession, contractors collectively expect sales, employment and profit margins to grow over the next six months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Backlog is down from the cyclical peak in early 2022 and has been roughly flat in recent months.
“The buoyancy of the nation’s nonresidential construction marketplace is really quite remarkable,” Basu continued. “Rising interest rates have already driven the single-family homebuilding market into recession, but brisk nonresidential activity continues. Many nonresidential contractors are operating at capacity, and their principal frustrations relate to supply-side issues like worker shortages, equipment delivery delays and elevated materials prices as opposed to demand for their services.”
