In the midst of political and economic uncertainty, U.S. engineering firm leaders expressed newfound optimism in the current status and future potential of primary markets, according to the latest Engineering Business Index (EBI), just released by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
The 3rd Quarter 2016 (Q3/2016) EBI was 61.4, up 1.2 points from the Q2/2016 score of 60.2—which was the lowest score since ACEC launched the EBI in January 2014.
EBI is a diffusion index that charts the health of the engineering industry by consolidating senior leadership responses on market and firm performance into a single composite score. Any number above 50 indicates expansion. The Q3/2016 survey of 326 engineering firm leaders was conducted September 15 to October 5.
Market expectations for one year from today among engineering firm leaders rose a healthy 6.2 points to 63.3—the largest quarter-to-quarter increase since the EBI’s inception. The increased optimism for one year from today was reflected in nine of the 11 surveyed market sectors—a drastic turnaround from the Q2/2016 survey, when engineering leaders expected only one of the 11 sectors—energy and power—to improve over the coming year.
Among public markets, transportation was the strongest sector, up 2.1 points to 64.2. Other rising sectors include water/wastewater (up 0.9, to 63.0); healthcare construction (up 0.8, to 55.8), and education facilities (up 3.0, to 55.0).
Only the environmental sector fell, dropping 0.8 points to 54.3. Among private markets, firm leaders were most bullish about the buildings sector, up 4.4 points to 62.9, followed by energy and power (up 0.7, to 60.4), land development (up 1.2, to 60.2), and Industrial/Manufacturing (up 2.8, to 58.2).
For the complete summary of ACEC’s Q3/2016 Engineering Business Index (EBI), go to www.acec.org.
Related Stories
| Mar 11, 2011
Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church
The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.
| Mar 11, 2011
Community sports center in Nashville features NCAA-grade training facility
A multisport community facility in Nashville featuring a training facility that will meet NCAA Division I standards is being constructed by St. Louis-based Clayco and Chicago-based Pinnacle.
| Mar 10, 2011
Steel Joists Clean Up a Car Wash’s Carbon Footprint
Open-web bowstring trusses and steel joists give a Utah car wash architectural interest, reduce its construction costs, and help green a building type with a reputation for being wasteful.
| Mar 10, 2011
How AEC Professionals Are Using Social Media
You like LinkedIn. You’re not too sure about blogs. For many AEC professionals, it’s still wait-and-see when it comes to social media.
| Mar 2, 2011
Design professionals grow leery of green promises
Legal claims over sustainability promises vs. performance of certified green buildings are beginning to mount—and so are warnings to A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, according to a ZweigWhite report.
| Mar 2, 2011
New ASHRAE standard may be too broad for the Canadian market
New Standard 189.1 from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), which goes beyond energy efficiency to include provisions that affect construction, post-occupancy monitoring, and site control, may be too much for the Canadian market—at least for now.
| Mar 2, 2011
How skyscrapers can save the city
Besides making cities more affordable and architecturally interesting, tall buildings are greener than sprawl, and they foster social capital and creativity. Yet some urban planners and preservationists seem to have a misplaced fear of heights that yields damaging restrictions on how tall a building can be. From New York to Paris to Mumbai, there’s a powerful case for building up, not out.
| Feb 24, 2011
New reports chart path to net-zero-energy commercial buildings
Two new reports from the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) on achieving net-zero-energy use in commercial buildings say that high levels of energy efficiency are the first, largest, and most important step on the way to net-zero.
| Feb 24, 2011
Lending revives stalled projects
An influx of fresh capital into U.S. commercial real estate is bringing some long-stalled development projects back to life and launching new construction of apartments, office buildings and shopping centers, according to a Wall Street Journal article.
| Feb 23, 2011
London 2012: What Olympic Park looks like today
London 2012 released a series of aerial images that show progress at Olympic Park, including a completed roof on the stadium (where seats are already installed), tile work at the aquatic centre, and structural work complete on more than a quarter of residential projects at Olympic Village.