Contractors Lose Confidence in Q3 but Remain Upbeat

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — While construction industry leaders remained confident in the third quarter of 2018, optimism slipped relative to the second quarter, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by Associated Builders and Contractors. Approximately three in four construction firms expect that sales will continue to rise over the next six months and closer to one in 10 expect sales to decline over the next two quarters. Though many firms expect to become even busier, fewer than six in 10 contractors expect profit margins to increase, a reflection of rising human capital, materials prices and other input costs. Despite … Read more

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ABC Predicts Construction Sector Will Remain Strong in 2019

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu forecasts another strong year for construction sector performance, yet warns about inflationary pressures, according to a recently published 2019 economic outlook. Job growth, high backlog and healthy infrastructure investment all spell good news for the industry. However, historically low unemployment has created a construction workforce shortage of an estimated 500,000 positions, which is leading to increased compensation costs. “U.S. economic performance has been brilliant of late. Sure, there has been a considerable volume of negativity regarding the propriety of tariffs, shifting immigration policy, etc., but the headline statistics make … Read more

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Construction Jobs Numbers Rebound in November

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation’s construction sector added 24,000 net new jobs in November, representing a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data recently released. Nonresidential construction employment added 8,600 net new jobs in November, a figure that would have been substantially higher were it not for heavy and civil engineering, which lost 7,800 for the month. In October, nonresidential construction firms shed 3,600 net positions. The construction industry unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points and now stands at 5 percent. While this increase is likely due to … Read more

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Nonresidential Construction Spending Stabilizes in August

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nonresidential construction spending expanded .5 percent in August, totaling $691.8 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau by Associated Builders and Contractors. Though this represents an improvement from July’s total ($688.2 billion), nonresidential spending remains 3.4 percent below its year-ago level and is down 3.8 percent from the cyclical peak attained in May 2017. Spending levels expanded in 10 of the 16 nonresidential construction subsectors in August on a monthly basis. The manufacturing subsector experienced the largest absolute monthly decline (-$2.6 billion) and the greatest year-over-year … Read more

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ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator Rebounds in 2017

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WASHINGTON, D.C. –The most recent Construction Backlog Indicator from the Associated Builders and Contractors rose to 9 months during the first quarter of 2017, up 8.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016. CBI is up by .4 months, or 4 percent, on a year-over-year basis. Highlights by Region Surging financial markets helped support activity in financial centers like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Expanding cyber-security and life sciences activity supported markets as geographically diverse as Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland; Austin, Texas; Silicon Valley, California and Seattle, Washington. Though backlog is slightly lower in the South on a year-over-year basis, it … Read more

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