Weekly Market Pulse: Machinery & Construction | North America

Research evidence excerpt

Weekly Market Pulse: Machinery & Construction | North America

Idea

June 29, 2026 12:57 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLCMMachinery & Construction | North America Angel Castillo

Equity Analyst

Weekly Market Pulse Angel.Castillo@morganstanley.comStefan Diaz, CFA +1 212 761-1931

Stefan.Diaz@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-1834

ABI lower MoM; New Single-Family Home sales down MoM; Oliver Jiang

Corn futures down, Soybean up WoW; CPKC receives final/170th ResearchOliver.Jiang@morganstanley.comAssociate +1 212 761-6458

loco in Wabtec order; Nondefense ex-air orders +1.6%, the third Esther O Osinaiya

Research Associate

MoM gain in four months. Esther.Osinaiya@morganstanley.com +1 212 761-3176

Machinery & Construction

North America

Construction: The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) fell to 44.5 in May from 48.3 in Industry View Attractive

April (50+ reflects billings growth), the weakest reading since January and the 19th

consecutive month of contracting billings. The decline was broad-based across the

sub-indices with project inquiries (49.4) and design contracts (45.0). Inquiries

slipped below 50 for the first time since January and design contracts hit a YTD low.

AIA tied the weakness to the Iran conflict, higher energy costs, and general inflation

which have pushed some clients to pause new projects.

Aggregates: Mortgage applications increased 1% WoW, according to data from the

Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s SVP and Chief

Economist, noted: “Mortgage rates changed little over the course of last week,

despite the more hawkish tone from the FOMC at its June meeting.” May single-

family housing starts decreased 1.9% MoM to an 882,000 seasonally adjusted

annual rate (down 7.0% YoY). May single-family permits increased 0.6% MoM to