ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator is the only economic indicator that reflects the amount of work that will be performed by commercial and industrial construction contractors in the months ahead. The Construction Confidence Index is a diffusion index that signals construction contractors’ expectations for sales, profit margins and staffing levels. View the methodology for both indicators. 

 

News Releases

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News Releases

WASHINGTON, March 31—Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman today issued the following statement responding to President Biden’s announcement of a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan.

WASHINGTON, March 31—Associated Builders and Contractors and leading tool manufacturer Milwaukee® Tool, headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, today announced a strategic partnership that will provide ABC chapters and contractor members with solutions for a safer, profitable and more productive jobsite. Milwaukee Tool is the only manufacturer of power tools, hand tools, storage and accessories to be named as an ABC strategic partner.

WASHINGTON, March 25—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that it has hired Jarrell Jackson as the director of ABC’s National Craft Championships and Construction Workforce Awards.

WASHINGTON, March 23—In 2021, construction companies will need to hire 430,000 more workers than they employed in 2020, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. The analysis also revealed that every $1 billion in extra construction spending generates an average of at least 5,700 construction jobs.

WASHINGTON, March 22— Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman released the follow statement on U.S. Senate confirmation of Mayor Marty Walsh as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON, March 12—Construction input prices rose 2.1% in February 2021, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 2.1% for the month.

WASHINGTON, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors released the following statement from Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck on the Biden administration’s proposals to rescind the U.S. Department of Labor’s joint employer and independent contractor final rules.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced the winners of its annual national awards—the Excellence in Construction,® Safety and Diversity Excellence, Contractor of the Year and Construction Workforce Awards—during ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced Jim Ellis, vice president, Price Electric, Robins, Iowa, received ABC’s 2021 Young Professional of the Year Award. Ellis was honored at ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 9.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced Pat Willburn, senior superintendent, DynaTen Corp., Alvarado, Texas, was named the 2021 Craft Professional of the Year. Willburn was honored at ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 9.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced Todd Swan, a carpentry instructor for the Franklin County Career and Technology Center, a training affiliate of the ABC Cumberland Valley Chapter, was named the 2021 Craft Instructor of the Year. Swan was honored at ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 9.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today named Big D Metalworks, headquartered in Dallas, as its 2021 Contractor of the Year, an award that recognizes companies for corporate integrity, commitment to safety, professional development and expert craftsmanship. The award was presented at the 31st annual Excellence in Construction® Awards gala during ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 10.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors has named the winners of the 2020 National Diversity Excellence Awards, an annual recognition of ABC members that display exemplary diversity leadership in their company, workforce, supply chain and community with best-in-class recruitment policies, retention practices and training and mentoring programs. The winners were honored at the 31st annual Excellence in Construction® Awards at ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas.  

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced the 39 winning contractor companies of the 2020 National Safety Excellence Awards, which were presented at the 31st annual Excellence in Construction® Awards during ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 10.

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 11—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced the presentation of the Excellence in Construction® Awards to 87 projects collectively worth nearly $2.7 billion during ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 10. The EIC awards program is the construction industry’s leading national competition that honors general and specialty contractors for world-class, safe and innovative construction projects from across the nation.

WASHINGTON, March 9—Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement applauding Sen. Mike Lee (R - Utah) for introducing the UNSHACKLE Act, along with several other pieces of legislation, today to improve and modernize the federal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act.

WASHINGTON, March 8—Associated Builders and Contractors today released its third annual Top Performers lists, which recognize ABC member contractors’ achievements in safety, quality, diversity, project excellence and special designations, ranked by work hours.

WASHINGTON, March 8—Associated Builders and Contractors President and CEO Michael Bellaman today released the following statement strongly opposing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 842). The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the PRO Act this week.

WASHINGTON, March 5—The construction industry lost 61,000 jobs on net in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the last ten months, the industry has added 805,000 jobs, recovering 72.3% of the jobs lost during the earlier stages of the pandemic.

WASHINGTON, March 9- Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.2 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Feb. 22 to March 3. This is up 0.7 months from January’s reading, but is still 0.7 months lower than in February 2020.

WASHINGTON, March 3—Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement from Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs, on the 90th anniversary of the Davis-Bacon Act, a 1931 law that requires contractors and subcontractors that perform work on federally funded or assisted construction contracts in excess of $2,000 to pay a government-determined prevailing wage and benefit rate on an hourly basis to on-site workers.

WASHINGTON, March 2—Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement from Vice President of Legislative & Political Affairs Kristen Swearingen voicing its strong opposition to H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, which is expected to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 3.

WASHINGTON, March 1—National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.9% on a monthly basis in January 2021 but is down 5% since January 2020, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $799.1 billion for the month.

WASHINGTON, March 2—Associated Builders and Contractors today announced the launch of its inaugural Tech Marketplace, comprised of companies that provide construction technology and innovative digital solutions for ABC contractor members to advance and grow their technology strategies, offerings and abilities.

ABC construction economic releases are published according to this schedule in 2023

For media inquiries, please contact Erika Walter, ABC director of media relations, at [email protected].

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