b'Contractors breathe sigh ofnancial and construction sectors appear to be breathing a sigh of relief. relief as project stress dropsThe measure of paused, abandoned and delayed bidDecembers decline in stress levels stemmed builds now sits well below its January 2024 peak,from sharp drops in delayed bid activity and according to ConstructConnect.project abandonments, according to Con-structConnect. For example, delayed bid activity fell 10.8% in December, hitting a five-year low in the private sector. Project abandonments dropped 16.1% overall, with private sector abandonments de-clining 27.4% compared to the same period in 2023. Public sector projects showed improvement as well, according to the data. Public projects put on hold fell 8.9% year-over-year, while public sector abandonments declined 3.6% over the The construction industry posted a significantsame timeframe. decline in project stress last month, showingHowever, while bid delays and abandonments much-needed progress after a volatile year, ac- declined, on-hold projects increased by 6.2% in cording to the latest data from Cincinnati-basedDecember, said Guckes. He attributed this to ConstructConnect.seasonal and administrative factors that typical-The Project Stress Index, a measure of construc- ly accompany year-end transitions in the public tion projects that have been paused, abandonedand private sectors. or have a delayed bid date, fell 7.4% in Decem- Decembers results marked a strong finish to ber. That figure still remains 5.6% above 2021the 2024 construction year, said Guckes. The levels, but far below its January 2024 peak, saidforthcoming change in presidential administra-Michael Guckes, chief economist at Con- tion, the recent cuts to the Federal Funds Rate, structConnect.and with much of the banking world overcoming Year-end 2024 readings were very encouragingits worst fears about the commercial real estate as they confirmed just how much progress hasmarket, stress levels are only slightly above 2021 been made in the industry over the last year,levels. Guckes told Construction Dive. Now that the Federal Reserve has begun to cut interest rates and with a pro-business presidential admin-istration about to enter office, many in the fi-Sebastian Obando- Reporter19'