Construction industry leaders’ confidence rose in September, according to www.abc.org.
Two of the three components increased for the month and all components remained above the diffusion index threshold of 50.
In September, the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Construction Confidence Index increased from 59 to 59.8 for staffing levels and from 51.9 to 52.5 for profit margin expectations. Sales expectations decreased from 55.9 to 55.1.
Additionally, ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator increased to nine months in September.
“The construction confidence and backlog metrics appear strong despite the U.S. economy facing headwinds like inflation, financial market volatility and rapidly rising borrowing costs,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Contractors remain decidedly upbeat, with backlog expanding and expectations for rising sales, employment and profit margins over the next six months.
“One would think the recent surge in interest rates would be enough to dampen contractor confidence,” Basu continued. “Instead, project owners continue to move forward with a significant number of projects. Faced with high demand for their services, contractors continue to show pricing power, helping to offset rising compensation and other construction delivery costs.”
