Contractor project backlog rises amid national data center rush
Construction project queues are growing nationwide, due in part to the nation's data center boom.
The Associated Builders and Contractors reported its backlog indicator rose to 8.8 months in April, a 0.1-year-over-year increase and a 0.2 jump from March. While data centers are a big factor for that increase, the report said only the top of the industry has reaped the rewards.
“Booming data center construction has almost exclusively benefited the largest ABC members," said Chief Economist Anirban Basu in a statement.
Basu said 42% of contractors with more than $100 million in annual revenue are under contract to work on data center projects. He added that contractors working on data centers have a backlog of more than a year, compared to the 8.3-month pipeline for buildings not tied to data centers.
The Dodge Construction Network found that data centers accounted for the largest projects valued at $100 million or more that entered the planning stage in March. The top projects include the $500 million Google Data Center in West Virginia, the $470 million Stargate Data Center in Texas and the $450 million Jay Data Center in Maine.
Data center development contributed to more construction employment in April, along with hourly wage increases, the Association of General Contractors of America recently found.
Association argues for national permitting reform
Construction trade organizations offered feedback to improve the permitting framework for projects that affect wetlands and other federally regulated waters.
Many of these projects are authorized under the nationwide permit program, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps issued a notice of solicitation in March seeking input on potential program changes. The National Association of Home Builders and industry partners offered several recommendations, including a plea for the Corps to establish a new nationwide permit program for single-family home development.
The NAHB argued this would improve predictability, reduce administrative burden and allow the Corps to tailor permit conditions more precisely.
Other recommendations made include increasing acreage limits for permit coverage and accelerating timelines for application decisions.