Associated Builders and Contractors reported recently that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to a 20-month high of 8.7 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted April 22 to May 6. The reading is up 0.3 months since April 2024.

Backlog has increased significantly over the past year for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues. While backlog has also risen modestly for the smallest contractors, it is down on an annual basis for those with $30 million to $100 million in annual revenues.

While some sectors like institutional and infrastructure remain stable, overall construction activity is likely to come under pressure as commercial and residential building face mounting challenges. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has released its advance estimate for the first quarter of 2025, revealing that real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 0.3%. This marks the first contraction in GDP since early 2022 and a notable reversal from the 2.4% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

We’re building the awareness of holistic safety, requiring a strong mind, strong body and the right state of mind for every task, on every job, every day. That’s why more than 70 national and global construction firms join forces for Safety Week with a single aim: to provide the vision, insights, resources and equipment standards to inspire everyone in the industry to be leaders in safety. Safety Week is a show of force, an opportunity for people, companies, and even competitors, to work together and celebrate the incredibly hard work by people in this industry who make safety the foundation of everything they do.

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.3% in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published recently by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.255 trillion.