The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (CCI) is a quarterly economic index designed to gauge the outlook for, and resulting confidence in, the commercial construction industry.
Recognizing a need to highlight the important contributions of this sector to the nation’s economy, the U.S. Chamber produced this first-of-its-kind index.
Each quarter, contractors across the country are surveyed in order to better understand their levels of confidence in the industry and top-of-mind concerns.
Note: In the original version of this report published on Dec. 10, 2020, the overall index score and backlog component score were incorrect due a data tallying error. The correct overall index score for Q4 2020 is 59 (originally reported as 60). The correct score for backlog is 69 (originally reported as 70).
The Commercial Construction Index (CCI) increased by two points to 59 in Q4 from 57 in Q3. All three main indicators saw slight increases revealing growing optimism for contractors’ mid- to long-term business prospects. However, the overall score is still below the score of 74 in Q1 2020 before the pandemic.
Key Drivers of Contractor Confidence
Backlog
The ratio of average current to ideal backlog rose to 69 in Q4 from 68 in Q3. This key driver is the closest of the three to its pre-pandemic score of 76 in Q1.
Revenue
Revenue expectations for the next 12 months increased four points to 52 in Q4. This score was 70 in Q1 before the pandemic.
New Business
Contractors’ confidence in the ability of the market to provide new business in the next 12 months inched up one point to 57 in Q4. This score was 76 in Q1 before the pandemic.
