Associated Builders and Contractors Release Construction Backlog Indicator

Coconut Creek, Fla. — Associated Builders and Contractors released its Construction Backlog Indicator for the first quarter of 2012. CBI declined 5.4 percent from the previous quarter, dipping from 7.8 months to 7.4 months, but is slightly higher compared to the first quarter of 2011. CBI is a forward-looking economic indicator that measures the amount of construction work under contract to be completed in the future.

Industry Highlights:

• During the first quarter of 2012, average construction backlog for commercial and institutional, and heavy industrial declined by less than half a month. Infrastructure fell by .52 months.
• The commercial/institutional segment of construction backlog expanded from 7.26 months in the first quarter of 2011 to 7.65 months in the first quarter of this year.

“On the heels of a mixed bag of national economic news, CBI declined for the second quarter in a row,” said Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist. “The lull in nonresidential construction momentum is not poised to end in the immediate term. The nation's nonresidential construction activity will remain soft during the summer months, with flat to declining nonresidential construction spending.”