FMI, which provides management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, recently released the 2014 Fourth Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index report, which shows a slight increase from the third quarter.
The index reveals a slight increase to 62.8 in the fourth quarter of 2014from 62.5 in the third quarter. This represents nearly 5.5 points increase from the fourth quarter 2013.
“An NRCI greater than 50 indicates improvement or expansion,” according to a statement by FMI.
There are many good reasons for optimism by NRCI survey respondents this quarter. The top-three are: businesses are starting to build again, backlogs are expanding and future business looks good with low inflation. Also, a close fourth is a sense of financial security with improved balance sheets.
However, the costs of labor and materialsare still on the rise, thus holding down the overall NRCI score. In addition, nearly one-fourth of the panelists expressed concern about the availability of skilled labor.