CFMA’s CONFINDEX Survey Indicates Construction CFO Confidence Is Getting Lower

PRINCETON, N.J. (October 2, 2013) – The Construction Financial Management Association’s (CFMA) Quarterly CONFINDEX™ Survey, sponsored by Viewpoint, dropped in September to 127, from 128 in June, showing construction CFO confidence is declining. CONFINDEX™ is CFMA’s proprietary confidence index survey of CFOs in the commercial construction sector. It is the only confidence index survey asking the level of confidence from construction finance professionals in a critical industry of the US economy.

CFMA’s Economic Adviser, Anirban Basu, said, “The current year will go down as yet another during which CFO confidence steadily slipped over the course of the spring and summer after beginning the year at a high level. According to the Q3:2013 CONFINDEX™ Survey, there was no significant improvement along any dimension of performance in the U.S. construction industry. Margins failed to thicken, business conditions modestly deteriorated, financial conditions flattened and the outlook dimmed just a bit.”

CONFINDEX ™ is based on a 200-point scale and includes four sub indices, all of which showed a mild decline since June. The Business Conditions Index fell 1.4 percent, Financial Conditions 1.7 percent, Current Confidence 0.8 percent and the 2013 Year Ahead Outlook Index 1.5 percent. CFMA’s CEO and President Stuart Binstock added, “While the results this quarter show a slight downward trend, I fear things could be much worse if Congress does not pass a budget in the next few days. The construction industry thrives when there is a degree of certainty in the marketplace and that certainty will be hard to achieve so long as Congress continues to play chicken with the American economy.”

The survey also asks respondents to rank their level of concern with challenges facing the industry in the upcoming year. In September vs. June, the number of people who were very or highly concerned about demand for construction dropped 4 percent, availability of financing for projects stayed level, public policy regarding construction dropped 18 percent, skills shortages was up 7 percent and “a challenge not listed” was down 7 percent. Challenges that were brought up under “not listed” included subcontractor financial stability, health care cost and environmental and governmental concerns.

For a detailed analysis of the September CONFINDEX Survey, please click here. CONFINDEX is released quarterly. If you would like to be notified each time CONFINDEX is released, please email [email protected].