Issue link: https://construction.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1522177
Construction Activity Index - Q3 & Q4 2022 ©Trimble Viewpoint, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Executive Summary It was supposed to be a year of recovery and growth; but now that 2022 is behind us, it's clear that the year was one volatile business challenge after another. From record inflation and high material prices to supply chain challenges and ever-present labor shortages, construction problems remain even as COVID seems to recede. These challenges caused many projects to be delayed or halted completely, which was coupled by a slower rollout of funding from the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. As a result, many contractors–especially those in the heavy highway and civil space–scaled back their projects and hiring as they adjusted their expectations to better fit the actual business environment. Trimble Viewpoint's Q3 and Q4 Construction Metrics Index reflects these challenges as new projects and contract values saw continuous quarter-over- quarter declines, demonstrating the economic uncertainty contractors felt across all verticals and regions at the end of 2022. On a brighter note, hiring and cash flow saw modest gains, which could indicate that contractors are ramping up their workforces and spending money on projects or other technological investments in anticipation of a more prosperous 2023, particularly as more infrastructure projects are awarded. These are positive signs for the industry, which has struggled to fill a decades-long labor shortage and has been behind on upgrading office-to-field and other critical technology that can help contractors work more efficiently and be more competitive when bidding and executing their work. Read on for highlights from the latest Quarterly Construction Metric Index, which represents data from the third and fourth quarters of 2022, compared against the prior year. This report uses proprietary information to provide a guidepost for industry leaders to better understand the construction landscape and how their own companies compare against industry averages. 6