ABC Construction Confidence Index Signals Growth Despite Backlog Drop in June
Key Highlights
- Backlog decreased by 0.3 months in June but remains above levels seen from September 2023 to April 2026
- Data center projects contribute to higher backlog for 13% of ABC members, creating a headwind for smaller contractors with less data center work
- Construction confidence indices for sales and staffing increased, indicating positive outlooks, while profit margins fell to a seven-month low due to rising input costs
WASHINGTON, DC — Associated Builders and Contractors' Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.8 months in June. The Indicator is based on an ABC member survey conducted from June 22 to July 8.
The reading is down 0.3 months from May but up 0.1 months from June 2025. Only the Middle States region experienced backlog growth on a monthly basis in June. In the Northeast region, backlog contracted sharply in June and is down by over a month from a year ago.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales and staffing levels increased in June, while the reading for profit margins inched lower. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.
“While backlog declined in June, it’s still longer than any point from September 2023 to April 2026,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “This strength is the result of continued booming data center construction. The 13% of ABC members under contract to work on data centers have significantly higher backlog (11.0 months) than the 87% that are not (8.5 months).
"This trend is noticeable headwind for smaller contractors—just 8% of contractors with less than $100 million in annual revenues have data center work under contract, well below the 41% share of contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.
“The effect of rising input prices may be weighing on contractor profitability,” said Basu. “Contractor confidence regarding profit margins fell to a seven-month low in June, though expectations remain above the prevailing level from the second half of 2025.”
View ABC's Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index for June. View the full Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series.
Note: The reference months for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index data series were revised on May 12, 2020, to better reflect the survey period. CBI quantifies the previous month's work under contract based on the latest financials available, while CCI measures contractors' outlook for the next six months. View the methodology for both indicators.