With multiple geographic areas and construction market sectors providing firms healthy opportunities, contractors across the five-state region had no problem keeping busy in 2023, according to the results from ENR Texas & Louisiana’s annual Top Contractors survey. The 79 firms that participated collectively reported roughly $45.8 billion in 2023 revenue, representing a major jump from the prior year.

The top 25 firms on the list reported total revenue of $34.14 billion for 2023, up 27% over the same group’s 2022 revenue. The growth marked a change of pace from last year, when the top 25 contractors collectively reported flat revenue for 2022, following a decline of 4% in 2021.

Chart by ENR

Looking at the top of the ranking, Zachry remains in the No. 1 position thanks to $4.97 billion in 2023 regional revenue, an increase of more than $1.5 billion from the year prior. Second-ranked Austin Industries also saw its annual revenue increase by roughly $1.5 billion, with a $4.18-billion total last year.

The revenue for all 78 firms follows a slightly different pattern. The average revenue per firm increased to $587 million in 2023 from $464 million in 2022, for a 26% jump. However, average revenue per firm also saw a healthy increase of 12% in 2022, after a steeper fall of 8% in 2021 during the pandemic.

Construction revenue from the petroleum sector saw significant growth of 42%, from $5.69 billion in 2022 to $8.1 billion in 2023. The manufacturing sector saw even greater growth, shooting up 69% from $2.57 billion in 2022 to $4.35 billion in 2023.

In contrast, the general building market saw only modest growth of 5%, from $21.07 billion in 2022 to $22.09 billion in 2023. However, there were significant swings within the market. Revenue from health care and hospitality projects saw little movement, down 1% and up 3%, respectively, while revenue from multi-unit residential projects grew by 24%.

Construction of the Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center in Arlington, Texas, involved 129 trade partners, according to contractor JE Dunn.
Photo courtesy JE Dunn

Significant Work, Challenges Ahead

Contractor business opportunities remain in healthy supply throughout ENR Texas & Louisiana region. However, the lagging issues of material price escalations, tight owner budgets and workforce shortages continue to challenge all firms.

“The market continues to be steady,” says Greg McClure, senior vice president with Manhattan Construction Co. in Dallas. “Projects continue to progress to contract. However, significantly more effort is involved in aligning project costs and owner budgets. [And] with steady positive market growth, the industry continues to be handicapped by an overstretched labor market, which is resulting in downstream impacts to project costs and schedules.”

In Oklahoma City, Manhattan Construction is delivering the Chickasaw Nation Development Team’s Okana Resort Master Development Project, which includes a 391,000-sq-ft hotel and conference center.
Photo courtesy Manhattan Construction Co.

Greg Lorei, South Central region president with JE Dunn’s Dallas office, sees a similar situation.

“The Texas construction market remains robust, but very competitive,” he says. “Because of higher interest rates for construction financing, we’ve seen a slowdown in viable projects” led by private developers.

“As a result, many construction companies pivoted to different markets/construction types,” he adds. “This creates more competition for projects that are not privately or developer led.”

However, Lorei adds, “Texas’ pro-business climate has attracted national clients to establish major campuses for mission critical, advanced industries and industrial/manufacturing projects.” Lorei also cites the estimated $10-billion-plus in airport expansions and improvements across Texas as a target for possible future work.

Manhattan Construction is one contractor that’s already made recent gains in this market.

“The aviation sector is another area where we’ve seen substantial growth, fueled by state and federal infrastructure initiatives,” McClure says. “Manhattan has successfully procured several of these projects, most notably ... the United Airlines Terminal B airside transformation [of the] North and South concourses to enhance the passenger experience at Houston’s IAH airport.”

Chart by ENR

About the Rankings

ENR Texas & Louisiana invites readers to examine the following rankings for insights on which construction markets provided contractors with opportunities across the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to the main regional list, there are breakout rankings for state-by-state revenue, market sector, construction type and delivery method in the following pages.