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. Commerce Department announced that U.S. construction spending increased for the third straight month in June. Overall U.S. construction spending grew by 0.4 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $842.1 billion.
According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a sharp spike in demand for industrial facilities so far this year, along with sustained demand for hotels and retail projects factors into what projects to be a 4.4 percent rise in spending this year for nonresidential construction projects.
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.
FMI, a provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, has announced the release of its second quarter Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) for 2012. Rising 1.7 points from the first quarter to 59.8, this is the highest confidence rating achieved since the index was developed in 2007.
