KEY POINTS
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The ConstructConnect Project Stress Index (PSI), which tracks delayed bid dates, on-hold projects, and abandonments in preconstruction, closed October 2025 at 104.9, up 1.0% from September.
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A noticeable fall in on-hold activity was completely offset by an increase in abandonments and a rise in bid date delays.
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Public and private sectors moved together in October for two of the three stress indicators.
Composite Overview
The Project Stress Index (PSI) closed October 2025 at 104.9, up 1.0% from September. A noticeable fall of 8.2% in on-hold activity was completely offset by a 1.9% increase in abandonments and an 8.5% rise in bid date delays.
The Project Stress Index has seen little increase compared to October of last year, with stress indicators presenting a mixed picture.
Bid-date delays have fallen noticeably year-over-year (YoY), down 11.1%, while on-hold activity decreased 2.7%.
The small increase in the overall index can be entirely attributed to a 15.4% YoY rise in abandonments.
Components Monitor
Delay Bid Date104.8 |
On Hold84.5 |
Abandoned125.5 |
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The ConstructConnect Project Stress Index (PSI) composite chart is shown from November 2023 to November 2025. The PSI is a seasonally adjusted, equal-weight measure of delayed, on-hold, or abandoned projects. (Month-on-month changes of less than 0.25% are indicated as unchanged). Image: ConstructConnect
Sector Status Update
Public and private sectors moved together in October for two of the three stress indicators.
On hold activity fell in both sectors over the month, while bid date delays rose marginally in the public sector and more actively on the private side.
Private sector project abandonments fell modestly in October, remaining well below the elevated levels seen earlier this year. Private abandonments jumped following the Liberation Day tariffs in April, before peaking in June.
The cost pressures associated with tariffs were felt in the public sector, as abandonments peaked in August and eased in September.
More recently, ConstructConnect has observed an uptick in public abandonments in October, which may be associated with the present government shutdown, the longest in history.
READ THE FAQs on The Project Stress Index
About the Project Stress Index
The Project Stress Index (PSI) composite represents an equal-weight measure of the seasonally adjusted level of preconstruction projects that have experienced a delayed bid date, been placed on hold, or abandoned in the last 30 days. The PSI only monitors nonresidential and multifamily projects in their preconstruction phases, thus excluding any single-family home construction. Each component has been seasonally adjusted and then indexed against its 2021 average weekly reading. The independent tracking of each status type gives unique insights into market changes’ timing, direction, and amplitude. Additional information about the PSI, including detailed data about the individual readings for delayed, on-hold, and abandoned projects, can be found here.
