The Preconomist

Two widely followed construction indicators softened in their latest readings, but the combined message is less about contraction and more about moderation. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator, which measures work already under contract, declined modestly in June. The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI), a leading indicator of future construction activity, also reported a slight decline in architectural firm backlog during the second quarter. At first glance, that appears concerning. A closer look suggests the construction pipeline is cooling, not cracking. What did the ABC Backlog Indicator show? ABC's Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.8 months in June from 9.1 months in May. While backlog declined month-over-month, it remains slightly above year-ago levels and higher than any reading recorded between September 2023 and April 2026. Infrastructure remains the strongest segment at 10.1 months of backlog, followed by heav...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released June 2026 Producer Price Index data this week. The headline for construction: nonresidential input costs decelerated to 7.1% y-y, down 130 basis points from May's 8.4% print. The chart below tracks two lines. One tracks wholesale resource costs; the other tracks final bid pricing. In June, outputs held at 3.5%. The spread between those two figures is 360 basis points. The gap is narrower than last month, but has not closed. What is driving the deceleration in inputs? America may run on Dunkin’, but construction runs on diesel. June's CPI report showed energy costs pulling headline inflation lower, and construction inputs followed. Diesel fell sharply in June, and fuel-sensitive categories moved with it. That is the cooldown visible in the chart, not a broad retreat in materials pricing. When energy leads a deceleration, relief is real but it is also the most reversible and volatile component of the index. Did anything move in ...

The tariff conversation in construction has mostly been reactive. A rate goes up, costs move, owners ask questions after the fact. What is unfolding right now is different. The administration is not oscillating on tariffs. Instead, it is rebuilding the legal architecture to make tariffs more durable. For construction budgets, that distinction matters more than any single rate announcement. What happened after the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs in February? The administration moved fast. Within three weeks of the February ruling, USTR initiated 60 parallel Section 301 investigations into trading partners' failure to prohibit imports of goods produced with forced labor. A temporary 10% global tariff under Section 122 went into effect as a stopgap. Section 122 has a hard 150-day cap, expires around July 24, and was never intended to be permanent. Section 301 currently appears to be the administration's primary replacement mechanism. Congress delegated that autho...

Real construction spending fell across nearly every category in May. Total real spending is down 0.9 percent month over month and 5.4 percent year over year. What is worth watching is the one category that had been holding the broader numbers up, data centers have also turned negative on a monthly basis for the first time this cycle.   Where is the pullback concentrated? Virtually everywhere. Nonresidential is down 1.0 percent month over month and 7.6 percent year over year. Manufacturing is the worst category, down 2.4 percent month over month and 25 percent year over year. Office (ex-data centers) is down 1.2 percent month over month and 15 percent year over year. Commercial, warehouse, lodging, and both private and public education categories are also negative. Multifamily and infrastructure are also negative year over year, down 0.8 percent and 1.9 percent respectively, but far more modestly than the categories above. They are softening, not collapsing. What about data cent...

Domestic steel capacity utilization sits well below the 85% threshold that historically signals a constrained market. Yet structural steel fabricators are quoting 36-to-40-weeks from award to the start of erection. The gap has an explanation that matters for planning projects in 2027. What Do the Data Show? The Federal Reserve's capacity utilization rate for iron and steel products (CAPUTLG3311A2S) ran at 75.5% in May 2026 (seasonally adjusted). That is a solid operating level but not one that would typically generate extended lead times on its own. The American Iron and Steel Institute reports capability utilization at 80.2% for the week ending June 20, using a different but related methodology that runs 3-to-5 points above the Fed measure. Both series point in the same direction. The market is operating above its recent baseline but below levels associated with broad supply constraints. The import picture explains the gap between what the utilization rate suggests and what ...

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the third and final estimate of first-quarter 2026 GDP this week. The headline landed at 2.1% annualized real growth, revised up from the second estimate's 1.6% and above the advance estimate's 2.0%. Markets received it as a mild positive surprise. The more important question is what actually moved the number, because the answer is not what a 2.1% print typically implies. The number went from 2.0 to 1.6 to 2.1. What explains that arc? Both prior revisions in this series were driven by what BEA calls source data maturation. The advance estimate is published roughly a month after the quarter closes and relies heavily on BEA assumptions where Census Bureau data is not yet available. The second estimate incorporates updated inventory and trade data. In Q1's case, that revision pulled the number down to 1.6% as inventory and consumer spending data came in softer than assumed. The final estimate moved the number back up to 2.1%. Th...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released May 2026 Producer Price Index data this week. For construction, two numbers define the month: nonresidential construction inputs rose 8.4 percent year-over-year, and nonresidential construction outputs rose 3.5 percent over the same period. The gap between those two figures is 490 basis points and has been widening for months. The input index tracks what contractors pay: materials, freight, equipment, and other goods consumed in the construction process. The output index tracks what contractors charge: the price of completed nonresidential construction delivered to owners. When inputs outpace outputs, the difference must land somewhere. It lands on margins. In May, nonresidential inputs rose 1.8 percent month-over-month. Nonresidential outputs rose 0.1 percent. The monthly spread is consistent with the annual one. This is not a one-month anomaly. It reflects a sustained period in which bid prices have not kept pace with cost escalatio...