Engineering firm CEOs upbeat about financial performance, industry employment

U.S. engineering firm CEOs remain encouraged about overall company performance and market trends. They also see strong signs of recovery in industry employment, this according to the latest ACEC Engineering Business Index (EBI), which charts the health of the engineering industry.

EBI is a diffusion index, consolidating hundreds of engineering leader responses nationwide on market and firm performance into a single “confidence” number. Any score over 50 indicates expansion.

The third quarter EBI (Q3), conducted Sept. 17 to Oct. 3 of 275 engineering CEOs, presidents and chairmen, produced a positive composite score of 68.8, virtually unchanged from 68.9 in the second quarter.

Survey respondents reported a strong rebound in hiring: 67.4% said employment at their firm was equal to or higher now than pre-recession (2008) levels; 25% said employment was “at least 10%” higher. Only 32.7% said employment was lower.

Engineering leaders remained encouraged by company performance: 65% reported higher backlogs compared to this time last year—significantly more than the 51% in the second quarter. Almost half of Q3 respondents (49.3%) expect backlogs to increase further over the next 12 months.

Respondents also believe most private markets will continue to thrive: 61.7% expect improvement over the coming year in Land Development, 56.1% in Energy and Power, and 53.1% in Buildings and Commercial.

Public market expectations, however, continue to lag: only 43.8% of respondents believe the Water and Wastewater segment will improve by next year; only 39.7% said Transportation will improve.

For the complete Q3 summary of ACEC’s Engineering Business Index (EBI) go to www.acec.org.

Real estate management and investment firm Hines has released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. The free guide, produced with Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), is the result of a two-year effort, relying on MKA’s industry-leading knowledge of carbon accounting and involvement in programs such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool.

Building Team | May 2, 2022

HED and VAI announce merger to bring strategic expertise and drive community impact in Dallas

HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux), a leading national architecture and engineering firm, today announced a merger with award-winning, Dallas-based VAI Architects Incorporated (VAI).

Laboratories | Apr 29, 2022

Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago enables development of solutions for multiple industries

The Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago, which provides customers in multiple industries the opportunity to test new technologies, recently opened.

Market Data | Apr 29, 2022

U.S. economy contracts, investment in structures down, says ABC

The U.S. economy contracted at a 1.4% annualized rate during the first quarter of 2022.

Codes and Standards | Apr 28, 2022

Architecture firm Perkins&Will to deliver ‘carbon forecasts’ for clients

Global architecture firm Perkins&Will says it will issue its clients a “carbon forecast” for their projects.

Retail Centers | Apr 28, 2022

Cannabis dispensary Beyond-Hello debuts ‘glass-box’ design for Culver City facility

Los Angeles’ Culver City will open its first cannabis dispensary with Beyond/Hello.

Office Buildings | Apr 28, 2022

A 48-story office tower to rise over boomtown Austin

In downtown Austin, Texas, a planned 48-story office tower, The Republic, recently secured its first major tenant—allowing for the groundbreaking by midyear.

Codes and Standards | Apr 27, 2022

White House guidance on Buy American for infrastructure includes waiver process

Recently released guidance on the Buy American provision within the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act released by the Office of Management and Budget includes a waiver process.