Construction Metrics We’re Watching — October 2020

Despite ongoing economic uncertainty as the pandemic lingers and winter approaches, staffing levels are expected to grow over the next six months as contractors strive to hold onto their workforce and potentially add to their pool of talent.

On the other hand, project, backlog volumes are declining. The number of new jobs is not as prevalent and more companies are competing for jobs. You can see this with the decline in the pending job, which correlates to less job opening and closing.

This negative sentiment is a reflection of the challenges facing contractors right now. These include:

• Fewer bidding opportunities

• More vigorous competition for work

• Rising materials costs

• Tighter lending standards

• Diminished state and local government financial health

• Persistent difficulty in identifying and hiring sufficiently skilled and motivated workers

Although an economic downturn implies a shortage of construction capital, the will to build a more resilient America will be strong.

Project management activity is determined by looking at actions like accounts payable, purchase orders, progress billing and progress entry events among Viewpoint clients.

It’s impossible to paint the entire construction sector with a single brush. While some projects will suffer, others might flourish. The projects in progress are holding steady as seen in the activity levels and have been holding strong since the end of May.

Those are the highlights from this month's activity tracking. But don't wait for us; you can follow the trends for yourself!

Visit the always-on Viewpoint Product Activity Index to get on-demand updates around construction trends.