ABC Construction Backlog Indicator Unchanged in November

On Tuesday, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national construction industry trade association representing more than 23,000 members, released its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for November. The CBI held steady at a reading of 8.4 months in November. The data was gathered in a survey of ABC members conducted from November 20th to December 3rd. The reading is down 0.1 months from November 2023.

The backlog in the infrastructure category contracted in November, although it is still the only category with higher backlog on a year-over-year basis.

ABC also released the results of its Construction Confidence Index—based on readings for sales, profit margins, and staffing levels—which improved in November. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.

In remarks accompanying the report, ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said:

“Contractor confidence surged in November even though backlog was unchanged for the month. This sudden improvement in confidence reflects increased policy certainty in the wake of November’s presidential election, and contractors are optimistic about the prospect of falling borrowing costs over the next several quarters. Though backlog contracted in the commercial and institutional and heavy industry categories last month, contractors expect increased activity in privately financed segments during the next six months.”