Construction Backlog Dips to 8.8 Months; Data Center Work Lifts Large Firms

Infrastructure projects carried the longest backlog at 10.1 months. Heavy industrial stood at 9.7 months; commercial and institutional sat at 8.9 months. Regionally, the South posted the highest backlog at 10.3 months, while the West had the lowest at 7.6 months.

Companies with more than $100 million in revenue reported the longest backlog, at 12.3 months. Basu tied that gap to data center construction. “The 13% of ABC members under contract to work on data centers have significantly higher backlog [11.0 months] than the 87% that are not [8.5 months],” he said. “This trend is a noticeable headwind for smaller contractors–just 8% of contractors with less than $100 million in annual revenues have data center work under contract, well below the 41% share of contractors with greater than $100 million in annual revenues.”

ABC's Construction Confidence Index showed the profit margins subindex hit a seven-month low, as rising material costs weighed on contractors. Basu said expectations nonetheless remained above the prevailing level from the second half of 2025.