Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 9.1 months in May, according to an ABC member survey conducted May 20 to June 3. The reading is up 0.3 months from April and 0.7 months from May 2025.

June got off to a very good start for ABC Massachusetts when our Gould Construction Institute (GCI) was awarded a $225,000 grant over three years from the Cummings Foundation to create a “High School-to-Career Pathways in the Skilled Trades” pilot program, which will target 25-30 students per year in six Middlesex County high schools.

Construction input prices increased 2.6% in May compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 2.4% for the month.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed judgment against a public awarding authority for acting in bad faith in refusing to award Revoli Construction a large public works contract. In Revoli, after a Superior Court trial, the Appeals Court affirmed Revoli’s jury verdict against the awarding authority for its bad faith refusal to award Revoli a public works project. The jury awarded, and the Appeals Court affirmed, Revoli’s $3 million dollar lost profit award, which, with interest, totaled $5.2 million at the time of award and now totals well over $6 million dollars. Revoli established at trial that it was the lowest responsible bidder and that the awarding authority acted in bad faith by rejecting its bid. Specifically, Revoli established that the awarding authority predetermined to reject Revoli before conducting any review of Revoli’s responsibility and by then seemingly rigging the review process against Revoli. There are few cases on bad faith in the public construction/public works contract award process and this case provides insight both on what bad faith means and how to win these cases.

Meta Platforms Inc. and Associated Builders and Contractors have announced a partnership to educate and provide construction-ready career pathways for thousands of data center construction technicians kicking off in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas as a meaningful step toward meeting the growing demand for data centers workers nationwide.

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.250 trillion.

The construction industry added 17,000 jobs on net in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 68,000 jobs, up 0.8%.

The national March not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rate was 6.7%, a 1.3% increase from March 2025, according to a state-by-state analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. The analysis found that only two states—Louisiana and Ohio—had lower estimated construction unemployment rates over the same period, four had the same rate and 44 had higher rates.

Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.8 months in April, according to an ABC member survey conducted from April 20 to May 4. The reading is up 0.2 months from March and up 0.1 months from April 2025.

Construction input prices increased 1.7% in April compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices increased 1.8% for the month.