The majority of U.S. construction companies are privately held, so what's happening with construction in the private sector?
A recent analysis of preliminary estimates from Sageworks, a financial information company, indicates that construction companies this year have continued their improving sales growth since 2009. Sales have increased 10.62 percent so far this year, compared with 10.19 percent growth for all of 2011, according to current estimates.
"Construction companies seem to have bucked the overall trend," said Sageworks analyst Libby Bierman. She noted that manufacturing and retail, two sectors that showed strong post-2009 recoveries, have seen their sales growth slow down so far this year.
Manufacturing companies in Sageworks' database have experienced 8.87 percent sales growth in 2012, compared with 14.66 percent growth in all of 2011, according to current estimates. Retailers have seen sales growth slow from 9.87 percent in 2011 to 5.88 percent so far this year.
"But construction companies have continued their strong performance," Bierman said. "One possible explanation may be due to the fact that the rebound in construction started a bit later than it did in those other sectors. Construction may be earlier in the recovery cycle than some of the other industries, like manufacturing and retail."
