ABC’s construction backlog indicator falls sharply in November

The Backlog Indicator produced by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) fell to 8.1 months in November, down 0.3 months since both October 2025 and November 2024.

Washington D.C.-based ABC conducted Nov. 20 through Dec. 8, backlog is down on both a monthly and yearly basis for every size of contractor other than those with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.member surveyAccording to the

“Backlog declined sharply in November and is now at the lowest level since February 2024,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu says. “The decline was particularly steep for the smallest contractors. ABC members with under $30 million in annual revenue registered their lowest backlog reading in over four years. Notably, fewer than 6% of those smallest contractors are under contract to work on data center projects, well below the 37% share for contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.”

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.

“Despite the decline in backlog, contractors remain broadly optimistic that their sales and staffing levels will expand over the next six months,” Basu says. “At the same time, just 33.6% 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.”