Survey: Traffic delays come from (some) unexpected issues

Commuters often blame bad weather or worse planning for frustrating construction delays. 

But a new survey from a Tampa-based financial lending company found the reasons are often much more complicated. 

This week, Mobilization Funding released its 2025 Construction Delays and Payment Timing Report, highlighting the perception gap between construction professionals and the public when it comes to prolonged delays and identifying payment issues as the biggest threat to project timelines. The study is based on surveys of 600 adults across the U.S. and 400 construction professionals, according to a release. The findings show that, while unpredictable weather remains a top disruptor when it comes to project timelines, late payments create the most damaging and prolonged setbacks. 

Some key findings from the survey include: 

• Construction delays have become routine for the public: According to the study, 91% of U.S. adults surveyed say they have had to change routes or plans because of construction, with 70% saying delays have become a part of their daily lives. 
• The perception gap is stark: Among members of the public surveyed, 63% blamed mismanagement for construction delays, while 56% pointed to poor weather. Only 19% of respondents associated delays to late contractor payments and 67% say they were not familiar with how payment timing affects project schedules. 
• Weather is the most frequent disruptor: Among construction professionals surveyed, 43% cite unpredictable weather as a major cause of project delays, while 35% cite material shortages; 31% cite client-side holdups; and 29% cite permitting issues. 
• Payment delays are less frequent, but more damaging to projects: Of the professionals surveyed, 25% say late payments were a major cause of disruptions. When projects experience late payments, 76% say they have lost at least a week’s worth of work and 38% lost more than three weeks. 
• A strained cash flow limits growth: Roughly 51% of construction professionals say the biggest payment challenges are high up-front costs, while 38% cite waiting on payments. More than half of those surveyed, roughly 56%, have turned down projects due to cash-flow or payment risks. 

“When people see orange cones and traffic backups with no crew in sight, they assume the problem is bad planning or weather,” Scott Peper, CEO of Mobilization Funding, says in the release. “But more often than the public realizes, the problem is subcontractors waiting on checks.”

Mobilization Funding, a financial lending platform built for commercial construction subtractors, manufacturers and small business owners, offered some recommendations to reduce construction delays. 

Subcontractors face high upfront costs before they get paid, so securing funding in advance is critical, the report says. They should also set and publish a payment calendar, locking in release dates so subcontractors know when money is coming in and can plan around it. 

“Transparency, combined with working capital, keeps the work flowing,” the report says.