{"id":32404,"date":"2025-09-20T09:06:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/private-construction-steadies-but-public-abandonments-jump\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T09:06:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:06:06","slug":"private-construction-steadies-but-public-abandonments-jump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/private-construction-steadies-but-public-abandonments-jump\/","title":{"rendered":"Private construction steadies, but public abandonments jump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">3 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1758289975\/news\/text_to_speech\/private-construction-constructconnect-public-abandonments_pwaja7.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Construction stress improved in August after a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/private-project-abandonments-record-high\/750100\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>sharp spike earlier this year<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, but there\u2019s been some erosion in public projects, according to the latest data from Cincinnati-based ConstructConnect.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/news.constructconnect.com\/project-stress-index-declines-as-on-hold-projects-drop-abandonments-normalize\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Project Stress Index<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, a measure of construction projects that have been delayed or abandoned, fell 5.9% from July to August. Although that marked a positive in the short term, the monthly improvement still leaves overall stress levels 4.6% above the 2021 baseline and higher than a year ago, according to the data.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>August brought broad-based relief, as on-hold activity and bid delays ticked down 12.2% and 1.7%, respectively, said Devin Bell, associate economist at ConstructConnect. Abandonments also decreased 4.9% in August, an improvement tacked onto the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/construction-stress-eases-but-contractors-remain-cautious\/757335\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>37.1% drop in July<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAugust\u2019s PSI reading showed improvement across all three indicators,\u201d Bell told Construction Dive. \u201cBid date delay activity set historic lows, while on-hold activity remains near historic averages. Abandonment activity decreased from elevated levels in previous months but remains near pattern highs.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ConstructConnect September 2025 Project Stress Index c2025 ConstructConnect\" src=\"https:\/\/news.constructconnect.com\/hs-fs\/hubfs\/ConstructConnect%20September%202025%20Project%20Stress%20Index%20c2025%20ConstructConnect.png?width=1814&amp;height=889&amp;name=ConstructConnect%20September%202025%20Project%20Stress%20Index%20c2025%20ConstructConnect.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Private projects posted the sharpest recovery, said Bell. Additionally, the Federal Reserve\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/contractors-interest-rate-cut-push-more\/760293\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>25-basis-point interest rate cut<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> on Wednesday will likely serve as a boon for private work momentum, according to contractors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>On-hold activity in the private sector fell 71% year-over-year and abandonments ticked down 8.1% compared to August 2024. Bell added private abandonment, which spiked following <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/trump-tariffs-construction-risk-liberation-day\/744334\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Liberation Day tariff actions<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> on April 2, have now settled back into historic ranges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cFollowing Liberation Day, the PSI experienced a surge in private project abandonments. While there are many reasons why this surge may have happened, it is likely that some projects were abandoned out of concern for a loss of cost control and operational and construction expense,\u201d Bell told Construction Dive. \u201cThankfully, more recent private abandonment activity has returned to well within historic bounds.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>However, now the public sector, which has been a bastion of relative strength, showed some worrying signs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For example, abandonments in education, water and sewer, municipal construction and transportation projects jumped 223% year-over-year, according to Bell. To that point, the University of Iowa recently put on hold its <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionowners.com\/news\/ui-health-care-delays-1-5b-inpatient-tower-amid-budget-cuts\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>$1.5 billion inpatient tower<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> in response to major federal funding cuts, according to Construction Owners Club.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Nevertheless, Bell said despite more owners walking away from public projects, overall abandonment activity declined for the month and has returned to historically normal levels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>And yet, overall stress remains higher than 12 months ago. Despite August\u2019s improvement, the Project Stress Index is still nearly 19% higher than at this time last year, according to the report. Over that same time period, overall abandonment activity has jumped 88%. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>That\u2019s a significant move, but ConstructConnect emphasized its index came off a yearly low in August of 2024 and that increased year-over-year levels reflected more of a normalization than sustained stress.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/private-construction-constructconnect-public-abandonments\/760607\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Construction &#8230; <a title=\"Private construction steadies, but public abandonments jump\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/private-construction-steadies-but-public-abandonments-jump\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Private construction steadies, but public abandonments jump\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32404\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}