U.S. construction industry leaders remained upbeat regarding nonresidential construction’s near-term prospects in May 2019, according to the Construction Confidence Index released by Associated Builders and Contractors. While contractors were slightly less upbeat regarding profit margins and staffing levels compared to April, all three principal components measured by the survey—sales, profit margins and staffing levels—remain well above the diffusion index threshold of 50 in May. Nearly 73% of contractors expect sales to rise during the next six months and 68% expect staffing levels to increase further. The CCI for sales expectations increased from 68.4 to 70.0 in May. The CCI for … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite ongoing concerns regarding labor force availability and rising interest rates, and emerging concerns regarding tariffs and construction materials prices, construction contractors emerged from the first quarter of 2018 with tremendous confidence, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Construction Confidence Index. Each of the three indices—sales, profit margins and staffing levels—increased during the first quarter and remain well above the threshold reading of 50. The CCI for sales expectations increased from 67.1 to 72.2 during the first quarter of 2018 The CCI for profit margin expectations increased from 60.7 to 63.4 The CCI for staffing levels … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commercial and industrial construction contractors entered 2018 with abundant confidence regarding sales and staffing levels for the next six months, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index released by Associated Builders and Contractors. All three components surveyed—sales, profit margins and staffing levels—remained well above 50 in the diffusion index, signaling ongoing progress. But the average contractor is less confident about profit margins than they were a year ago. The CCI for sales expectations increased from 66.4 in the first half of 2017 to 67.1 The CCI for profit margin expectations fell from 62.4 to 60.7 The CCI … Read more