The ConstructConnect Project Stress Index (PSI), which tracks delayed bid dates, on-hold projects, and abandonments in preconstruction, closed August 2025 at 104.6, a 5.9% month-on-month decline led by a 12.2% drop in on-hold activity.
Compared to August 2024, the PSI rose 19%, largely driven by an 88.2% increase in abandonment activity. Bid date delays and on-hold projects registered year-over-year declines of 7.1%.
Abandonment activity rebounded from its 2024 low, with recent results signaling a normalization toward historically typical levels rather than a continuation of elevated stress conditions.
The Project Stress Index (PSI) closed August 2025 at 104.6, marking a 5.9% month-on-month (MoM) decrease from July’s reading. This broad improvement affected all three stress indicators, with on-hold activity leading the decline at 12.2%, while abandonment and bid date delay activity fell 4.9% and 1.7% respectively.
The overall Project Stress Index has risen 19% compared to the same period last year, driven by an 88.2% increase in project abandonment activity. Conversely, both bid date delay and on-hold activity saw declines of 7.1% year over year (YoY).
Abandonment activity reached a yearly low in August 2024, making the current YoY increase a reflection of movement away from the depressed levels. The latest full-month results showed a MoM decline in abandonments and a resumption of historically typical abandonment levels, indicating that the increased year-over-year figures reflect more of a normalization rather than sustained stress.
Delay Bid Date100.5 |
On Hold77.2 |
Abandoned136.3 |
The ConstructConnect Project Stress Index composite chart is shown from October 2023 to August 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
Public and private projects demonstrated distinct stress patterns in August, reflecting the different market forces affecting each sector. Private sector bid date delays fell to near historic lows while public delays remained near historic averages.
On-hold activity showed public levels staying near historic means, while private on-hold activity continued trending down toward historic averages.
Abandonment patterns revealed the sharpest sectoral contrast, with public abandonment rising while private abandonment declined from near historic upper bounds. The private sector saw abandonment jumps following the liberation day tariffs, which potentially affected commercial construction projects on the cusp of profitability that became unviable due to increases in material and operating costs.
Now, the public sector is experiencing its own wave of increased abandonments, suggesting that public sector projects are now facing development constraints despite their traditional insulation from economic pressures.
READ THE FAQs on 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.