As public sector work continues its downward spiral, regional contractors are filling revenue gaps with a much more diverse mixture of project types than in recent years. While several large-scale energy and transportation projects broke ground in and around New York City in 2013, most of industry's new construction was sharply focused in the private sector, executives say. The broader array of offerings, they add, is fueling industry growth and providing work for more firms that struggled through the downturn.
"The market today is unquestionably loosening up," says Pat Di Filippo, executive vice president of Turner Construction, which tops ENR New York's 2014 contractor ranking for the third consecutive year with about $2.7 billion in 2013 regional revenue. Regional revenue last year for the survey's top 50 respondents also strengthened—reaching $20.3 billion, up nearly 10% from the previous year's top 50 total.