Highway, Street & Bridge Construction
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 8,600 construction companies in the US build transportation-related infrastructure; including highways, roads, streets, airport runways, and bridges. Companies may also build driveways and parking areas. Industry revenue consists of new construction (59% of industry sales), additions, alterations, or reconstruction (22%), and maintenance and repair (19%).
Dependence On Government Spending
The majority of industry revenue comes from publically funded programs, mainly state and local government projects.
Variability In Costs
With low margins, variability in the cost of materials and labor can be a challenge, particularly for fixed unit price and lump sum contracts.
Industry size & Structure
A typical highway, street, or bridge construction company operates out of a single location, employs about 43 workers, and generates about $14.4 million annually.
- The highway, street, and bridge construction industry consists of 8,600 companies that employ about 370,000 workers and generate $124 billion annually.
- Government contracts account for about 73% of industry revenue, and the majority of government contracts are issued by state and local governments.
- Large companies include Kiewit Corporation, Granite Construction, and US divisions of Skanska.
- Most small to medium-sized companies operate within a limited geographical market.
Industry Forecast
Highway, Street & Bridge Construction Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 12, 2024 - Biden Administration Rushes to Spend Remaining IIJA Funding
- According to a White House fact sheet released in mid-November, only 47% of the $1.7 trillion ($568 billion in funding through 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has been announced. The Biden administration is working to get the remaining dollars allocated before Donald Trump takes office, according to AP News. While some Biden administration officials worried that Trump could scale back or eliminate some Biden-era spending, pulling back IIJA funding could be difficult. The IIJA has benefitted many Republican-leaning states and districts, according to the Global Infrastructure Investment Association. Some industry observers doubt there will be any significant effort to pull back infrastructure spending.
- US spending for highway and street construction in 2025 is expected to grow by about 3%, according to FMI’s fourth-quarter 2024 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. While funding from the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) for programmed highway projects is scheduled to expire in 2026, FMI expects another round of fresh funding as temporary and grant projects are either extended or made permanent. Highway and street spending is forecast to rise 3% in 2026, then taper off to 2% growth in 2027 before rising by 4% in 2028.
- The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Backlog Indicator fell 0.1 months to 8.4 months in November compared to a year earlier. November backlogs were flat from October. The infrastructure backlog increased by 0.8 months in November 2024 to 8.7 months over the same month a year earlier. However, November’s commercial and institutional construction backlog fell 0.1 months to 8.5 months year-over-year, and the heavy industrial backlog fell by 0.1 months to 8.7 months over the same period. The ABC’s Construction Confidence Index for sales rose to 57 in November from 53.1 in October. A Confidence Index sales reading of 50 or more indicates most contractors are optimistic about sales. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said, “Contractor confidence surged in November even though backlog was unchanged for the month. This sudden improvement in confidence reflects increased policy certainty in the wake of November’s presidential election, and contractors are optimistic about the prospect of falling borrowing costs over the next several quarters. Though backlog contracted in the commercial and institutional and heavy industry categories last month, contractors expect increased activity in privately financed segments during the next six months.”
- In an investment analyst conference call in late October, Granite Construction CEO Kyle Larkin said spending on public construction projects would likely remain healthy through 2030 and perhaps beyond, according to Construction Dive. Granite expects continued opportunities from public projects as only 40% of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is projected to be spent by 2026.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.