Business View Magazine March 2023

9 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 3 ABC’S CONSTRUCTION BACKLOG INDICATOR DOWN TO START 2023; CONTRACTOR CONFIDENCE RISES Source- constructionbusinessowner.com, First published February 14, 2023 Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined 0.2 months to 9.0 in January, according to an ABC member survey conducted Jan. 20 to Feb. 3. The reading is 1.0 month higher than in January 2022. Despite the decline in January, backlog remains elevated by historical standards and is 0.1 months higher than in February 2020, the month before the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the economy. ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales, profit margins and staffing levels increased in January. All three readings remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months. “Despite extremely elevated borrowing costs, worker shortages and a generally downcast economic outlook, contractor confidence rebounded in January to a level not seen since the first half of 2022,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Given the recent employment report, the U.S. economy continues to fend off recession. Some economists have concluded that OPENING L INES