The Quikrete Industry Dashboard

The big metric making a move on the latest Quikrete Industry Dashboard is a decline in Consumer Confidence.

The latest Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board fell in February to 106.7, down from a revised reading of 110.9 in January. The February decline arrives after three straight months of gains. 

But the Conference Board said that after January was revised downward from the preliminary reading of 114.8, the data now suggests there was not a material breakout to the upside in confidence at the start of 2024.

While not a metric measured on the dashboard, an update on Pending Home Sales was also issued in the past week.

The National Association of Realtors reported that the latest Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell 4.9% to a reading of 74.3 for the month compared to the December 2023 level. On a year-over-year basis, pending transactions dropped 8.8%.

An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. The index is a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings.

At gas pumps, prices are on the rise.

AAA reported that the national average for a gallon of regular fuel moved ahead to $3.31 per gallon on Feb. 29 compared to a cost of $3.10 per gallon on Jan. 29.

Here’s what HBSDealer readers had to say about gas prices.