Associated Builders and Contractors’ Chief Economist Anirban Basu echoed Rivetti’s sentiments about competition, saying that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the average construction firm leader is more concerned about demand for their services than any other consideration, including skilled worker shortages.”
This means that there are more companies than usual bidding on each available project, which tends to drive construction prices lower. This trend is consistent with the results of ABC’s recent Construction Confidence Index, Basu said, which reported that although construction firm executives expect sales to increase over the next six months, they also expect profit margins to become slimmer.
