The somewhat glum outlook from contractors about the profitability of their companies going forward, despite having a longer runway of work now than last summer, reflects a stark change from early 2022. “Several months ago, there was conjecture that contractors were generally too upbeat regarding their collective future,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu in a release. “Increasingly, the data suggest that they were.”
He said previously, many contractors reported surging backlog and an ability to pass along hefty cost increases to project owners. Subsequently, they expected sales, employment and profits to grow, not contract.
