According to the Professional Services Management Journal (PSMJ) Resources’ Quarterly Market Survey, proposal activity for AEC firms continued to grow at a rapid pace in quarter two of 2021. 

The survey’s net plus/minus index (NPMI) was 52% for overall proposal activity, which was the highest in any second quarter in the 18-year history of the survey and the 5th highest of all time for any quarter. The NPMI expresses the difference between the percentage of firms reporting an increase in proposal activity and those reporting a decrease. In addition, revenue and backlog indicators were also at record-high rates in the survey of PSMJ member firms. 

“The increase in A/E industry revenues that began in Q1 of this year has accelerated significantly in Q2, as has the increase in backlog,” said PSMJ Senior Principal David Burstein, PE, AECPM. “Looking to the future, proposal opportunities again grew at a rapid pace in Q2 in almost all markets. Even some markets that have been soft seem to have reached bottom and are likely to improve in the coming quarters. These include hospitality, office buildings, resource extraction, power plants, higher education, and sports facilities.”

The housing market topped all 12 major markets for the third time in the last four quarters with an NPMI of 68%. Light industry, with an NPMI of 67%, came second. Among submarkets, product manufacturing led the group with an NPMI of 73%.

“To look even further into the future, we carefully track the housing subdivision market which, directly or indirectly, strongly influences about 80 percent of A/E industry revenues,” adds Burstein. “This market continues to be red hot, so we see no slowdown in activity for the foreseeable future. And if the federal government passes a significant infrastructure bill, those sectors will become even hotter.”