June 1, 2015: Nonresidential Construction Continues on Growth Path
Report Points to Diverse Forces Driving the Industry
NEW YORK — The nonresidential construction sector continues to grow at a solid pace, reflecting 18 months of improving activity despite rising costs of construction materials and labor and a slight decline in regional economies where most construction activity is taking place, according to the FMI Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) report for Q2 2015. The index reflects the observations and sentiments of a sampling of construction industry executives nationwide.
FMI’s NRCI for Q2 2015 was 64.9, essentially unchanged from the previous reading of 64.8 in Q1. The index paints a mixed picture of the current state of the nonresidential construction sector. On one hand, the NRCI component for the overall economy dropped 1.9 points to 76.9 points this quarter. While down from its peak of 81.1 a year ago, this component still indicates that panelists contributing to the index remain bullish about the economy. Similarly, indicators for the economies where panelists do the most business stood at 76.7, suggesting continued growth on a broad scale.