ABC: Industry backlog down slightly in April

The construction industry had 8.7 months of in-the-works projects in April, a number down from 9.5 months in March, the Associated Builders and Contractors reported on Tuesday.

Anirban Basu, ABC chief economist, said the decline shouldn’t be cause for concern.

“The backlog decline in April was due to the commercial/institutional category,” he said. “This can be attributed to construction spending trends, which show that growth in certain commercial segments is not nearly as robust as in prior years.”

Aside from the commercial/industrial category, the industry’s backlog for other sorts of project increased from March to April. For heavy industrial projects, it went from 5.6 months to 6.1 months; for infrastructure projects, it went from 11.7 months to 13.1 months.

In the so-called Middle States – a group that includes Wisconsin – the industry’s backlog went from 7.4 months to 7.9 months. The biggest backlogs were seen in the South, which had 9.1 months’ worth of work in April, and the West, which had 9.9 months’ worth.

“Regionally, backlog remains most elevated in the South and the West – both regions that are disproportionately home to the nation’s fastest expanding metropolitan areas,” Basu said.