PrintPrintThe Lowcountry offers the only bright spot in the quarterly report, with some improvement reported in financing ability and working capital. Overall, contractors in the Carolinas remain pessimistic about credit, wages and business volume.
Staff Report
Published Jan. 27, 2010
General contractors remained pessimistic in the third quarter, while barometers for construction in the Carolinas were flat or trending downward, according to the latest report from the Carolinas Associated General Contractors.
In the third quarter of 2009, the AGC Construction Barometer, an index of several measures affecting the industry, was down 0.9%. Business and credit indicators point to a bottoming-out of the recession, according to the Carolinas AGC.
Costs were the only bright spot highlighted, with materials, equipment and labor all becoming more affordable, and the trend is expected to continue into 2010, Carolinas AGC said. Wage rates were down in North Carolina but stable in South Carolina, the report said.
Business volume showed no change in the third quarter, the report said, and that led to little new demand for heavy equipment. Contractors reported that credit continues to be a challenge, with few new development projects being launched. Loan applications and approvals were very low, and that trend is also expected to continue, the report said.
In the Lowcountry, however, trends were up in the third quarter, with the contractors index up 1.8%. Financing ability and business activity were rated as being improved, with working capital reported as being considerably stronger. Contractors also anticipate that the easier credit conditions in the Lowcountry will persist into 2010, countering the trend elsewhere in both states. The employment market and construction costs remained rather soft.
Activity in the Upstate was down 1.9% in the third quarter, the report said, with some contractors fearing that 2010 could be as bad as or worse than 2009. Virtually all construction costs were stable in the region, while the employment market was soft.
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