Site Prep Contractors
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 38,400 site preparation contractors in the US prepare land for construction activity. Services include excavation work; wrecking and demolition; trenching; sewer and water main installation; construction machinery rental (with operator); and road construction. While private sector projects account for the majority of revenue, site prep contractors also provide services to federal, state, and local governments.
Dependence On General Contractors
Because site preparation is just part of the construction process, companies often depend on general contractors to secure client business.
Seasonal And Weather-Related Factors
Seasonality and weather conditions affect project timelines and site prep contractors’ ability to perform work.
Industry size & Structure
The average site preparation contractor operates out of a single location, employs 9-10 workers, and generates about $2-3 million annually.
- The site preparation services industry consists of about 38,400 companies that employ 396,000 workers and generate about $97 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented; most site preparation contractors serve a limited geographical market.
- Some large general contractors, such as Granite Construction and Sterling Construction, offer site preparation services in addition to other construction services.
Industry Forecast
Site Prep Contractors Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Feb 12, 2025 - Builders Rank Top Headwinds for 2025
- Except for inflation, which some builders expect to improve this year, the challenges most builders foresee for 2025 are much the same as the ones they faced in 2024, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). More than three-quarters (78%) of builders said high interest rates will likely be the key problem they face in 2025, down from 91% in 2024. Other significant issues builders expect to face this year include buyers pausing purchases as they wait for interest rates and prices to drop (74% of respondents), cost and availability of developed lots (65%), building materials prices (64%), and cost and availability of labor (64%).
- North American construction and engineering spending in 2025 is expected to grow by 2% after increasing an estimated 6% in 2024, according to FMI’s first-quarter 2025 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. With growth of 19%, the data center sub-sector will lead 2025 nonresidential building construction, followed by public safety (9%), amusement and recreation (7%), and manufacturing (6%). Commercial construction spending is expected to decline 9% in 2025 amid a 6% drop in warehouse demand, which accounts for more than half of annual commercial spending. Lodging construction spending is forecast to fall 7%, and stubbornly high office vacancies are expected to hold new office construction to 2% growth in 2025. Amid high mortgage interest rates and a lack of affordability, single-family construction spending is forecast to rise by 4% in 2025. A recent jump in new apartment supply and unfavorable cost conditions will reduce multifamily spending by 13% in 2025. Water projects will lead infrastructure spending growth in 2025 with a rise of 9%, followed by power (7%), sewage and waste disposal (6%), highway and street (3%), and conservation and development (1%).
- Soon after taking office, President Trump issued an executive order called “Unleashing American Energy” that included an order to pause and review funding processes that some legal experts suggest will likely have ramifications for the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to Construction Dive. Many stakeholders found the order's wording unclear, prompting the Office of Management and Budget to issue a memo limiting the funding pause to programs the original order termed as part of the “Green New Deal.” Even with the clarifying memo, experts suggest the order could stop obligated funding for infrastructure projects that are already underway. The order is expected to face legal challenges. At the end of 2024, about $294 billion in funding authorized under the IIJA remained unspent.
- After posting solid gains in 2023 and 2024, construction spending for nonresidential buildings is expected to slow significantly in 2025 and 2026, according to the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Consensus Construction Forecast released in January. Total spending for nonresidential building construction increased by 20% in 2023 and another 6% in 2024 but is forecast to slip to 2.2% in 2025 and 2.6% in 2026. For the next two years, growth will be led by data centers, which should support modest office construction in an otherwise challenging market. The warehouse sector is oversupplied, which will limit spending growth. Spending on institutional projects should remain stable as they are less susceptible to cyclical factors. AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said, “The modest outlook is partly based on a few expected headwinds to building activity, including potential tariffs on imports. There is also policy concern around how the construction labor force might be impacted by emerging immigration policy. Construction sector spending has been exceedingly strong – albeit unusually unbalanced – and coupled with these headwinds the projections are only very modest gains the next two years.”
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