Construction industry executives are optimistic that local nonresidential construction activity will improve in 2013, according to a survey by Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co.

The final construction numbers for 2012 aren’t all tabulated yet, but the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC) is making predictions about what some sectors of the construction market will look like in 2013. Nonresidential construction is predicted to expand by 5.2 percent next year.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) expanded for the second consecutive quarter, up to eight months in the third quarter of this year, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous quarter.

While nonresidential construction spending has increased somewhat over the last year, current indicators show that this market is still not robust. Geothermal heat pump (GHP) systems seem to be bucking this trend, though, as most manufacturers state that sales of commercial equipment are increasing.

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce has announced that construction spending during May 2012 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $830 billion, 0.9 percent above the revised April estimate of $822.5 billion. The May 2012 figure is 7 percent above the May 2011 estimate of $775.8 billion.