Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator decreased to 8.1 months in November, based on a survey conducted among ABC members from November 20 to December 8. The reading is down 0.3 months from both October 2025 and November 2024.
The backlog is down on both a monthly and yearly basis for every size of contractor, except those with annual revenues exceeding $100 million.
ABC’s Construction Confidence Index reading for sales increased in November, while the readings for profit margins and staffing levels declined. The readings for all three components remain above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations for growth over the next six months.
“Backlog declined sharply in November and is now at the lowest level since February 2024,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “The decline was particularly steep for the smallest contractors; ABC members with under $30 million in annual revenues registered their lowest backlog reading in over four years. Notably, fewer than 6 percent of those smallest contractors are under contract to work on data center projects, well below the 37 percent share for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.
“Despite the decline in backlog, contractors remain broadly optimistic that their sales and staffing levels will expand over the next six months,” said Basu. “At the same time, just 33.6 percent of contractors expect their profit margins to expand over the next two quarters, the lowest share in over a year. That likely reflects growing anxiety about materials costs, which have started to rise after several quarters of relative stability.”