The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)’s Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.4 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted Oct. 20 to Nov. 4. The reading is down 0.1 months since September but unchanged from October 2024.
Backlog was flat or increased on a monthly basis in each of the three industries considered in this survey: commercial and institutional, heavy industrial, and infrastructure. Backlog for respondents who do not primarily operate in any one industry—generally the smallest contractors responding to the survey—fell sharply for the month and stands at just 5.8 months.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales was unchanged in October, while the readings for profit margins and staffing levels ticked down. Still, the readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.
However, added ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu, “Nearly 65% of contractors indicated that they think the U.S. construction industry is contracting, according to ABC’s October survey. This dismal assessment accompanied the lowest backlog reading since May, and 23% of contractors expect their sales to decline over the next six months, the highest share in over a year. These findings are consistent with an industry that is sustained by still-elevated manufacturing construction and a surging data center sector. Approximately 1 in 7 contractors is under contract to work on data centers, and those contractors have significantly higher backlog (10.9 months) than those who are not (8.0 months).”
Here, you can view ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index tables for October, or the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.
About Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and more than 23,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC helps members develop people, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically, and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.
’s Construction Backlog Indicator remains largely unchanged but anticipates industry contraction.){kind=link}