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Last year was perhaps the worst in a decade for commercial builders in North Carolina, according to Carolinas AGC Inc., a trade group for general contractors. After two quarters, its construction barometer, which tracks employment, economic and financial trends to gauge the health of the industry, stood at the second-lowest level since it began 10 years ago. It was expected to drop in the third and fourth quarters. Tight credit and a sour economy forced delays, cancellations and changes in many projects. And 2009 will be even worse, says Tim Clancy, president of Raleigh-based Clancy & Theys Construction Co.
