Construction Market Stats - About Construction Barometer

About Construction Barometer™

This composite index is unique in that much of the information used to calculate it cannot be readily obtained through existing public data sources. A large part of the index is a reflection of the perceptions and projections from members of our industry panel.

The quarterly Barometer score for the North and South Carolina commercial construction industry is a mathematical combination based on:

Quantitative information (economic data & regional business statistics). This data is made available to CAGC 10-12 weeks AFTER the close of each quarter.
Qualitative information (subjective information from a panel of industry experts).

The Construction Barometer, designed by Dr. Tony Plath of UNC-Charlotte for Carolinas AGC, incorporates about 24,800 pieces of data, tracking business conditions in three categories:

Employment and labor trends
Business and economic trends
Financing availability

For the qualitative part of the index, 100 of the industry's top management representatives from North and South Carolina serve on the quarterly panel. Eighty percent of the panel is made up of Carolinas AGC contractors; twenty percent includes allied firms such as suppliers, architects, bonding/insurance agents and accountants.

For the quantitative series of the index, data used to build this index includes:
--Employment & Labor: unemployment rates, wage rates, new positions anticipated
--Business & Economic Trends: gross state product, contractors' business volume, material costs, highway, building and utility construction activity, heavy equipment purchase and rental expenditures, residential permits issued, DOT funding.
--Financing Availability: commercial and industrial loans granted by area banks, prevailing short and long-term US Treasury bill rates, commercial credit approved.

Carolinas AGC is the nation's largest chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, with 2,800 member firms in NC and SC. Carolinas AGC developed the Construction Barometer in response to the need for a Carolinas-based indicator of trends in the construction industry and, as part of our mission to build members' businesses through workforce development, business development, profit management. For the most current Barometer information: visit www.CAGC.org.