Engineering Services Industry Profile

The US engineering services industry includes about 60,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $255 billion. Major companies include URS, Jacobs Engineering, and the engineering divisions of large construction companies such as Fluor and Bechtel. The industry is highly fragmented: the 50 largest firms account for about 35 percent of industry revenue.

Annual global spending for engineering services is estimated at $750 billion. Worldwide spending is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2020, according to a joint report by NASSCOM and Booz & Co. Prominent global firms include WorleyParsons (headquartered in Australia), AMEC (UK), Fugro NV (Netherlands), and SNC-Lavalin Group (Canada).

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.

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 skills in analysis, design, project management, operations, or all four. Most firms specialize in ...