Overall construction activity across the ENR Texas & Louisiana region has been robust over the last few years, with numerous sectors contributing to the overall surge.

Based upon survey information submitted to ENR from specialty contractors working in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma, 2023 was a busy year. Comments provided by some of this year’s ranked firms indicate that the region’s specialty contractors should continue to find plenty of business opportunities moving forward into 2025.

For example, in the Top Specialty Contractors survey that it submitted to ENR Texas & Louisiana, Cummings Electrical—which ranked 14th overall with $219.6 million in regional revenue—noted that: “We had year-over-year growth of 46.6% from 2022-2023, with ample backlog supporting expected future growth of 50-plus percent for 2024.”

Chart by ENR

Rosendin Electric—ranked fourth overall this year with $560.67 million in 2023 regional revenue—noted that business activity “throughout the Texas region catapulted in 2023,” with a number of contract awards from projects in the biomedical, transportation, semiconductor and mission critical markets. That revenue total marks a roughly 8% gain over last year, when the firm reported $518.68 million in regional revenue.

Top-ranked Primoris Services Corp. is delivering the Leeville to Golden Meadow portion of the LA 1 project in Louisiana.
Photo courtesy Primoris Services Corp.

A Look at the Numbers

An in-depth look into the revenue totals submitted to ENR Texas & Louisiana provides specifics about the region’s busiest market sectors.

For instance, the top 15 firms on the Top Specialty Contractors list reported a strong total revenue figure of $7.78 billion for 2023 revenue, up 17% over the same period a year ago.

“We are confident in the Gulf Coast industrial development as well as public infrastructure projects.”
—Brandon Ashley, Senior Vice President, Five-S Group

The total revenue for all 50 firms on the list showed even stronger growth, up 25% to $10.24 billion in 2023. That follows equally strong growth in 2022, when the reported total revenue increased by 27% over the 2021 numbers.

Average revenue per firm shows to be similar but slightly weaker, with growth of 17% in 2023 and 16% growth in 2022. Combined, that’s more than 36% growth in average revenue since 2021, suggesting strong sustained growth in the five-state Texas & Louisiana region.

Electrical contractors responding to this year’s survey collectively reported massive growth, with more than $2.5 billion in revenue in 2023, up 69% from the $1.49 billion in revenue reported a year ago. Utility contracting revenue also saw significant growth, up 32% to $1.33 billion in 2023.

However, some specialty sectors saw decreases in revenue. Mechanical/plumbing revenue fell by 34%, from $1.12 billion in 2022 to $744 million in 2023. Concrete revenue also saw a significant drop of 20% between 2022 and 2023.

The Comite River Diversion Channel project in Louisiana was one of Five-S Group’s recent major projects.
Photo courtesy Five-S Group

Looking Forward

Overall, specialty contracting firms that provided perspective on future market conditions are seeing plenty of opportunities ahead. Brandon Ashley, senior vice president with sixth-ranked Five-S Group, Baton Rouge, La., is one of them.

“Five-S’s target markets and the opportunities in our service area of the Gulf Coast are highly optimistic heading into 2025,” he says. “We are confident in the Gulf Coast industrial developments as well as public infrastructure projects in this region.”

Ashley also notes LNG export capital projects, data centers and coastal preservation efforts will likely offer opportunities for Five-S going into 2025.

Tom Ward, vice president with Keystone Concrete—which ranks third this year with $682 million in regional revenue—is also optimistic about 2025.

Chart by ENR

Overall, Ward reports that Keystone’s “2025 outlook is hopeful, [and] we are still maintaining a strong backlog” with the medical and institutional market sectors showing promise of increasing activity.

At the same time, Ward says, “Market challenges for Texas/Louisiana are hard to comment on until the president is selected. Oil and gas could take more of a hit depending on who it is.”

ENR Texas & Louisiana invites readers to review this year’s regional ranking of specialty contractors for more insights.