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Construction activity recorded a significant fall in the project’s stress, but the improvement was far from uniform among the sectors, according to the latest Constructconnect data based on Cincinnati.
The project stress rate, a measure of construction projects that have stopped, abandoned or with a delayed offer date, fell 9.7% in February of the previous month. Civil work, such as infrastructure, promoted much of this improvement, said Michael Guckes, a chief economist in Constructconnect.
Private projects, on the other hand, continued to face pressure, publishing a sharp increase in abandonments and maintenance activity. As a result, the PSI is still 12.4% above 2021 levels, the reference year for the index.
“The first months of this year have seen an unusual and even unexpected divergence from the sector,” Guckes told Construction Dive in an email. “For those who provide that the new presidential administration would boost in the trust of the private business thanks to the reduction of regulations and the fall of taxes, we have not yet seen any benefit measured by the PSI.”
General abandonments and maintenance projects fell 14.7% and 5.9% respectively. However, private projects were launched by 36.7% year -on -year, while private abandonments reduced only 2.4%, which indicates little relief, said Guckes.
Instead, Public projects came out much betterWith 25.3% and dropouts dropped by 25.8% compared to February 2024.
“This divergence is rarely seen, especially at the beginning of a calendar year,” said Guckes. “This divergence is very interesting, as it might be thought that the public projects of the new presidential administration would have a greater risk of financing losses and cutting it.”
Controlled tendencies suggest that the uncertainty between private developers could contribute to the hesitation to breaking the ground. Total construction begins, for example, fell 6% in JanuaryAccording to the Dodge Construction Network. Non -residential buildings, such as office and hotel projects, were 18% in January.
However, Guckes hopes that private sector confidence will improve, leading to a rebound of the activity.
“Our expectations of the whole year are that private work will benefit from more relaxed regulations this year, while public projects are struggling to find funding,” said Guckes.
