Related Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported its Development Backlog Indicator inched down to eight.3 months in December, in accordance with an ABC member survey performed from December 20 to January 6. The studying is down 0.3 months from December 2023.
View ABC’s Development Backlog Indicator and Development Confidence Index tables for December. View the complete Development Backlog Indicator and Development Confidence Index knowledge sequence.
The industrial and institutional class backlog has fallen by nearly a complete month over the previous yr and is now on the lowest stage since February 2023. Backlog within the infrastructure class, however, presently stands on the highest stage since August 2023.
ABC’s Development Confidence Index readings for gross sales and staffing ranges improved in December, whereas the studying for revenue margins declined. The readings for all three elements stay above the edge of fifty, indicating expectations for progress over the subsequent six months.
“Whereas backlog inched decrease in December, contractors broadly count on building exercise to choose up within the first half of this yr,” says ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “Contractor confidence remained terribly elevated in December, with the share of contractors that count on their gross sales to extend over the subsequent six months now on the highest stage since early 2022. Regardless of that confidence, the trail of rates of interest will play a vital position in trade efficiency in 2025. If charges stay greater for longer, backlog might stay subdued, particularly within the struggling industrial and institutional class.”
