The results of the survey, which polled more than 2,000 firms between August 4 and 26, underlined the downtrodden outlook at many construction firms, which have seen their backlog of work diminish among a dearth of new project opportunities. They’ve suffered drops in productivity and increased costs due to COVID-19 mitigation protocols, which have compressed profit margins.
“I’m more pessimistic than I like to be,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist during a virtual conference call announcing the results of the study yesterday.