Dive Brief:

• The nonresidential construction index tracked by Associated Builders and Contractors slipped during the first quarter of the year from an overall 8.3 months at the end of 2013 to 8.1 months.
• The organization said a decline in the commercial/institutional sector was enough to overcome increases in infrastructure, which got back to a gain after nine months of shrinking, and heavy industrial.
• Chief Economist Anirban Basu blamed part of the decline on the harsh winter, which he said affected many industry statistics, but he put more weight on retailers and other commercial customers building cash during the quarter instead of expanding space.

Dive Insight:

ABC also tracks backlog according to the size of contractors, and companies that perform $100 million or more a year in business had their second-highest backlog ever – 11.7 months. Companies of $50 million to $100 million saw  a slip, as did smaller firms. The smallest group is about where it was at the end of 2011, and they are under pressure to sign up more work at smaller profits to get things rolling, Basu said.