The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in partnership with USG Corporation just released the Commercial Construction Index (CCI) for Q2 and according to this survey, the outlook for the rest of this year is higher revenues and profit margins.
The CCI surveys contractors across the country to understand industry trends and top-of-mind concerns. Leading indicators used to determine confidence are backlog levels, new business opportunities, and revenue forecasts. The confidence index for Q2 was at 76 out of 100 points which indicates a positive contractor outlook.
Many contractors have high confidence that there are emerging business opportunities at 77 points, optimistic that revenue will increase at 71 points, and the backlog on average was at 9.9 months which is close to the ideal of 12 months, giving this indicator 81 points.
Across the board, however, 61% of contractors surveyed reported difficulty finding the right talent to fill key positions.
79% of contractors reported an increase in green building activity. Large contractors reported that 44% of their projects were green, midsized companies reported 31%, and small companies reported 21%.
Even with the difficulty in finding skilled workers, most contractions (95%) expect profit margins to grow or stay the same over the next 12 months, and 96% expect revenues to grow or remain stable.
Overall, the index points to high confidence and a positive outlook across the country.
However, if you are a little more conservative on the length of this growth spurt, call us about our custom tailored 36 month leases where you can return the new JLG machines at the end of the lease term.
If you are currently renting, we can show you how you can save at least $10,000.00 over the length of the lease and still own the machine if you want.
