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Read this article to understand the level of U.S. non-residential construction projects that have been delayed, on hold, or abandoned.
COMPOSITE OVERVIEW
For the week ending May 18th, 2024, the Project Stress Index composite finished at 110.7, down 4.3% from a week ago and falling 14.8% from a month ago.
Most of the Index’s decline in recent weeks has resulted from falling abandonment activity. Since reaching an all-time high of 205 in late January, abandonment activity has declined at an accelerating rate over the last 5-weeks.
Its latest reading of 100.0 marks an 8-month low in abandonment activity. By the index's design, a reading of 100 also marks the average level of activity for each index component during 2021.
Bid date delayed and on-hold activity, in contrast, have fallen far less since the start of the year. Their latest weekly readings of 109 and 123.2 remain well within the levels recorded in recent months.
COMPONENTS MONITOR
| Delay Bid Date | On Hold | Abandoned |
|---|---|---|
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|
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(Week-on-week changes of less than 0.25% are indicated as unchanged)
Sector Status Update
Public and private projects often exhibit distinct stress trends due to having different financing sources. In the case of abandoned project activity, the PSI has monitored parallel declines in abandonment activity across both sectors.
In contrast, throughout much of 2024, the PSI has observed a rising number of public projects affected by delayed bid dates and holds, while the level of affected private projects has remained stable to slightly lower.
Looking at the first 19 weeks of the year, the PSI reported record highs for public projects placed on hold in 10 of those 19 weeks. This level, however, remains below the seasonal highs reached annually from 2021 to 2023, as shown in the chart below.
About the Project Stress Index
The Project Stress Index (PSI) composite represents an equal-weight measure of the seasonally adjusted level of pre-construction projects that have experienced a delayed bid date, have been placed on hold, or have been abandoned in the last 30 days. The PSI monitors nonresidential and multifamily projects in their preconstruction phases only and thus excludes any single-family home construction. Each component has been seasonally adjusted and then indexed against its 2021 average weekly reading. The independent tracking of each status type gives unique insights into the timing, direction, and amplitude of market changes.
Additional information about the PSI, including detailed data about the individual readings for delayed, on hold, and abandoned projects can be found here.
