Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) declined to 8.8 months in June, according to an ABC member survey conducted from June 22 to July 8. While backlog slipped 0.3 months from May, it remains 0.1 months higher than in June 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.
Regionally, only the Middle States posted month-over-month backlog growth. The Northeast experienced the sharpest decline, with backlog falling by more than a month compared to the same period last year.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index showed improved expectations for sales and staffing in June, while confidence in profit margins edged lower. All three components remained above the 50-point threshold, indicating contractors still expect business conditions to improve over the next six months.
“While backlog declined in June, it’s still higher than at any point between September 2023 and April 2026,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “That strength continues to be driven by booming data center construction. The 13% of ABC members with data center projects under contract reported an average backlog of 11.0 months, compared to 8.5 months for contractors without data center work.”
Basu noted that the surge in data center construction has created an uneven market. Only 8% of contractors with annual revenue below $100 million reported having data center projects under contract, compared with 41% of firms generating more than $100 million annually.
“The impact of rising construction input costs may also be pressuring contractor profitability,” Basu said. “Confidence in profit margins fell to its lowest level in seven months, although expectations remain stronger than they were during the second half of 2025.”
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.
Visit abc.org/economics for the Construction Backlog Indicator and Construction Confidence Index, plus analysis of spending, employment, job openings and the Producer Price Index.
Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC helps members offer a robust employee value proposition, develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.
