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

rss

News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 13—Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Workforce Development Greg Sizemore today issued the following statement on the release of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s April 10 guidance on recording cases of COVID-19:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19—Leaders of the U.S. construction industry regained a degree of confidence in October 2019 with respect to near-term prospects for sales and profit margins, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Confidence Index released today. However, contractors became slightly less confident regarding their staffing levels during the next six months.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18—Associated Builders and Contractors announced today that Greg Sizemore, the association’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development, has been appointed vice chair of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In this role, Sizemore will help support the alliance’s mission to address suicide prevention as a construction health and safety priority and reach a zero-suicide industry.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator remained virtually unchanged at 8.9 months in October, up just 0.2% from September’s reading.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12—Construction input prices decreased 0.5% in November and are down 1.1% year over year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices decreased 0.4% for the month and are down 1.0% since November 2018.  

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9—Associated Builders and Contractors released its 2019 Merit Shop Scorecard today, an annual ranking based on state policies and programs that encourage workforce development, career and technical education, job growth, and promote fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction projects.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6—The construction industry added 1,000 net new jobs in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 146,000 jobs, an increase of 2.0%. 

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4—Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts continued momentum for the construction sector next year but advised an overall “wait-and-see” approach based on leading and lagging indicators and economic uncertainties, according to a 2020 economic outlook published in Construction Executive magazine.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2—National nonresidential construction spending fell 0.7% in October but is up 1.4% compared to the same time last year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $776.5 billion, 2.3% lower than the cyclical peak attained in April 2019.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3—In October, estimated not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates increased nationally and in 34 states, fell in 13 states and were unchanged in three states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21—Leaders of the U.S. construction industry remained confident through September 2019 regarding near-term prospects for sales, staffing levels and profit margins, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors' Construction Confidence Index released today. However, the level of optimism continues to dim. 

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.9 months in September 2019, down 0.1 months or 0.8% from August 2019 when CBI stood at nine months.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 – Construction input prices remained unchanged on a monthly basis in October but are down 2.2% year-over-year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices fell 0.1% for the month and are down 2.0% compared to the same time last year.

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 13―Associated Builders and Contractors’ Board of Directors elected Tim Keating, owner and president, R. C. Stevens Construction Co., to serve as the 2020 ABC national chair during the association’s annual Leadership Institute in San Antonio. Steve Klessig, vice president of architecture and engineering, Keller Inc., was elected chair-elect and Stephanie Schmidt, president, Poole Anderson Construction, was elected secretary. 

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8—Associated Builders and Contractors Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Workforce Development Greg Sizemore spoke at a Nov. 7 Occupational Health and Safety Administration public meeting on leading indicators for safety and health programs. In his remarks, Sizemore emphasized the importance of leading indicators as a proactive measure to prevent workplace hazards and reduce recordable incidents, resulting in improved safety and health performance.

WASHINGTON, Nov.1—National nonresidential construction spending rose 0.5% in September but is down 0.9% on a year-ago basis, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $775.6 billion, 2.4% lower than the cyclical peak in April 2019.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1—The construction industry added 10,000 net new jobs in October, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 148,000 jobs or 2%.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30—In September, estimated not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 48 states and rose in two states on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. For the fifth consecutive month, the construction unemployment rates for all 50 states were below 10%. For the nation and 29 states, this was their lowest September construction unemployment rate on record.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24—U.S. construction industry leaders remained confident in August 2019, according to the Construction Confidence Index released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. While contractors were less upbeat regarding sales growth over the coming six months, confidence associated with profit margins and staffing increased from July to August.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator climbed to nine months in August 2019, up 0.5 months or 5.4% from July 2019 when CBI stood at 8.5 months.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8—Construction input prices fell 0.6% in September and are down 1.7% year-over-year, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices fell 0.7% for the month and are down 1.4% compared to the same time last year.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 – The construction industry added 7,000 net new jobs in September, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has expanded by 156,000 jobs, an increase of 2.1%. 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1—National nonresidential construction spending declined 0.4% in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data published today. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, spending totaled $773.8 billion, 0.3% higher than in August 2018.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2—In August, estimated not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates rose nationally and in 31 states, fell in 13 states and remained unchanged in six on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors. For the fourth month in a row, the construction unemployment rates for all 50 states were below 10%.

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 23—Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Pennsylvania today filed a lawsuit to stop Westmoreland County from requiring its contractors to execute a project labor agreement with the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council as a condition of winning certain taxpayer-funded public works construction contracts. In addition, the county is requiring contractors to fire any worker on a PLA project who does not join a union affiliated with the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council within eight days of employment, including union workers belonging to a union not represented by the council.

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].

Subscribe to ABC’s news releases and/or subscribe to ABC's weekly newsletter, Newsline.Â