Engineering Services Industry Profile

Companies in this industry apply engineering principles to design and develop systems, structures, processes, and instruments. Major companies include Jacobs Engineering and URS (both based in the US), AMEC (UK), Fugro (Netherlands), SNC-Lavalin Group (Canada), and WorleyParsons (Australia).

Annual global spending for engineering services is estimated at $750 billion. Spending is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2020, according to a joint report by NASSCOM and Booz & Co.

The US engineering services industry includes about 50,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $185 billion. High growth is forecast for the next two years. Key growth drivers include increased construction activity.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven largely by the construction needs of companies and governments and the desire of industrial customers to improve the efficiency of operations. Profitability depends on the ability to accurately predict costs for a project. Small firms, which can effectively compete with larger ones by having expertise in a particular field, are often hired as consultants on larger projects if they have special expertise. Large firms are advantaged in designing and managing large projects. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest firms account for about 40 percent of industry revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major engineering services include product and industrial process design, construction design and management, systems engineering, and maintenance and operations. Companies in this industry apply engineering principles to design, develop, and use machines, materials, structures, and processes. Engineering projects require ...