Contractors doing commercial work are reporting their lowest backlog numbers in six months, perhaps indicating tougher economic times ahead, according to a new survey just released by the American Builders and Contractors.
That survey reveals that the group’s Construction Backlog Indicator is now down to 8.4 months. That figure represents a trendline that has been generally declining since the summer of 2023, with variations here and there.
The 8.4-month backlog is specific to commercial and institutional projects, notes the survey, while the figures for the heavy industrial sector reveal a higher 8.8-month backlog, with the numbers in the infrastructure sector at 9.8 months.
The backlog figures show a decided regional flavor: the Northeast is reporting a 7.7-month backlog, followed by the Midwest and West at 8.1 months each. The greatest breathing room was seen in the South where contactors reported a 9.6-month backlog.
In a statement, Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist, noted that some 65% of firms said they “think the U.S. construction industry is contracting.”
Characterizing that input as a “dismal assessment,” Basu added that “23% of contractors expect their sales to decline over the next month, the highest share in over a year.”
Not for the first time, it is the smaller firms that are experiencing the shortest backlog. For companies with revenue at the $30 million or less level, the October backlog stood at 7.3 months, notably below the national average.
Companies with revenue in the $30 million to $50 million range reported an overall backlog of 9.4 months, followed by companies at the $50 million to $100 million level with a 10.4 month backlog.
The greatest backlog, at 12.2 months, was recorded with firms reporting revenue in excess of $100 million.
Whatever the backlog figures, construction firms in general, noted Basu, remain “sustained by still-elevated manufacturing construction and a surging data center sector.”
Basu added that just under 15% of all contractors are currently under contract to work on a data center, and that those companies have a markedly high backlog of 10.9 months.
November 14, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Image courtesy of Pixabay
