The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting engineering and construction businesses of all types and sizes in the U.S. Sector companies are facing many challenges, from delayed projects to difficulties procuring materials and equipment. Leading contractors are responding by accelerating digital implementation, automation, and increased use of prefabrication and modularization, which will likely help offset the impact on construction activities. This article explores the impact of the pandemic on the sector and the approaches sector companies could take to respond to and recover from the crisis.

Although construction is one of the few sectors that seems to have escaped the full brunt of the COVID-19 crisis, sector companies face multiple short-to-medium-term challenges. These include an increase in project delays/projects being put on hold, difficulty obtaining permits for projects, stalled construction, rise in project cancellations, anticipated increase in claims and litigation, and difficulty in procuring materials and equipment such as structural steel and glass from Asia. As a result, design firms and contractors are seeing a slowdown in activity on projects, which could extend to projects that are likely to start in the near-term. The path forward includes dialing up digital assets to ensure a safe and productive job site and focus on prefabrication and modularization.