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Public construction remains a large U.S. market, but the latest spending estimate is nearly flat month to month—and spending data do not tell firms how many contracts will be awarded or how much revenue they will earn. A 2023 feature by Building Design + Construction described how architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms were preparing for government work through preconstruction, digital delivery, workforce development and lower-carbon building initiatives. Its company figures and project schedules are historical snapshots, not current rankings or verified present-day project statuses.
What does public construction spending tell AEC firms?
It shows the scale of construction work put in place, not a direct forecast of future government contracts. The distinction matters: a large public-construction market can support opportunities for AEC firms, but monthly spending estimates are not contract-award totals, a measure of any one firm’s revenue, or a guarantee that an announced project will proceed on schedule.
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The newest estimate available in the supplied data is the U.S. Census Bureau’s September 2026 estimate: public construction spending was $546.8 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 0.1% below the revised August estimate of $547.1 billion. That is a very large market with little month-to-month change in that estimate—not evidence, by itself, of a sudden new spending surge. The Census Bureau’s broader estimate for total construction was $2,186.1 billion annualized, down 1.9% from August. These are estimates of work put in place, expressed at an annualized rate; they are neither actual full-year totals nor forecasts. The Census Bureau’s September 2026 release explains the reference period and estimates.
Public construction combines state and local work with federal construction. A separate Census Bureau table puts federal nonresidential construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $40.179 billion in August 2026, 2.3% above August 2025. Total federal construction, including categories beyond nonresidential work, was $41.177 billion annualized, 0.3% above August 2025. Those federal figures should not be substituted for the total public-construction estimate: they cover a narrower level of government and, in the first figure, a narrower type of construction. See the federal construction put-in-place table for the federal series.
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Why does the 2023 feature still matter?
The October 27, 2023 feature is useful as a record of how several firms said they were building capacity for public work—not as a current directory of the largest government contractors. It linked the favorable policy environment to the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, and described a wave of new construction and modernization of existing buildings. It also reported a June 2023 nonresidential public construction estimate of $411.4 billion, up 13.8% year over year at the time. That historical figure is not directly comparable with the later Census estimates without reconciling definitions, revisions and reference periods.
One federal example in the feature was the General Services Administration’s FY2024 budget request: $21.8 billion in requested budget authority, including $10 billion from the Federal Capital Revolving Fund. This was a request reported in 2023, not a statement of current appropriations, amounts awarded to firms, or spending completed. Budget authority, project awards and construction work put in place describe different stages of public investment.
That sequence helps explain why the market signal is not as simple as “more public spending means more work for every firm.” An agency request or funding law may support a pipeline, but projects still require planning, procurement, design, construction and delivery. Firms positioning for government work need capabilities that respond to project requirements and delivery risks, not just a favorable headline number. The examples below show approaches the 2023 feature highlighted; they do not establish which firm performed best or prove that any one practice caused better results.
How did firms build preconstruction and delivery capability?
One strategy was to engage early, before a project reached construction. The feature reported that Hensel Phelps received an award for preconstruction services for the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport North Terminal Expansion. The planned expansion added about 80,000 square feet over two levels. Reported preconstruction tasks included design review, market analysis, value engineering, schedule development and guaranteed maximum price work.
Those tasks address different uncertainties. Reviewing design and market conditions can help surface constraints; value engineering examines options in relation to project value and cost; schedule development makes sequencing and timing explicit; and guaranteed maximum price work concerns how a project’s price is established. They are not interchangeable, and naming them does not establish that a project met a particular cost or schedule outcome. The practical point is that government-building practices can begin well before crews mobilize, with firms asked to coordinate design, cost and schedule considerations.
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The same 2023 article reported nearly $3.5 billion in government-related contract revenue for Hensel Phelps’ Government + Justice practice in 2022. That is a dated, company-specific figure, not a current revenue disclosure or a directly comparable measure for all firms in the feature. The original feature provides the project and company context.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsAnother example was WSP’s work on a design-build request-for-proposals package for the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group at Tyndall Air Force Base. WSP led a tri-venture design team. The feature reported that construction had begun in 2022 and was then scheduled for completion in 2025. That is the schedule as presented in October 2023; the cited feature does not verify whether the project was completed on that date. WSP’s government-contracted design work was reported at $272 million for the prior year, another historical figure rather than a present-day measure.
Jacobs illustrated the scale of federal service work rather than a single building project: the 2023 article said U.S. federal agency service contracts accounted for 31% of its total revenue, or $4.6 billion, in 2022. It also reported that Jacobs planned to spin off its Critical Mission Solutions business, with completion expected by October 31, 2024. The source establishes that the plan was reported, not whether or how it was completed. The revenue figure and corporate plan should therefore be read as a 2023 snapshot.
What role can digital delivery and AI play?
The feature described firms exploring technology to manage complexity and support delivery, while stopping short of providing common performance results. WSP said it was exploring AI and developing strategies intended to be scalable and controllable. HDR described examining machine learning and AI alongside traditional labor. These are reports of exploration, not evidence that AI replaced staff, produced a particular efficiency gain or was deployed on every project.
Kimley-Horn’s example was more specific: digital-twin digital delivery on state Department of Transportation projects, used to manage complexity, time, cost, risk, errors and coordination. A digital twin or digital delivery approach may be relevant where project teams need to coordinate substantial information, but the feature did not provide standardized before-and-after figures for those outcomes. A firm evaluating such methods should distinguish an announced or described workflow from demonstrated results under comparable project conditions.
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For public clients, the strategic question is not simply whether a firm uses AI or digital models. It is whether the approach can be governed, integrated with project processes and suited to the agency’s requirements. The 2023 accounts point to that operational framing—WSP’s emphasis on scalable, controllable strategies, for example—rather than a claim that adopting a particular technology guarantees a successful project.
How are decarbonization and modernization changing building work?
The examples ranged from federal technology evaluation to design and engineering practices. In June 2023, the GSA’s Green Proving Ground program, working with the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, selected 20 technologies for testing in real buildings. Areas included greenhouse-gas accounting, operational and embodied carbon, on-site renewables and window retrofits. The program’s selection of technologies is not a comparative finding that each one delivers a specified energy or emissions reduction.
The distinction between operational and embodied carbon is useful in understanding the breadth of the work described. Operational-carbon efforts concern emissions associated with building operation; embodied-carbon work concerns emissions associated with materials and construction. The feature also identified on-site renewables and window retrofits as areas of interest. Taken together, the examples show modernization reaching both building systems and the materials or interventions used to change buildings.
Syska Hennessy described energy and simulation modeling, electrification and net-zero work. SOM introduced algae-based bio-concrete with Prometheus Materials. DLR Group’s mass-timber prototype work identified sound, structure and safety as central concerns. These are reported initiatives and areas of practice, not a common assessment of carbon performance, cost, readiness or code compliance. They illustrate the kinds of technical questions firms may encounter, but the article supplies no comparable results that would justify ranking the approaches.
For a government owner, decarbonization strategies also sit alongside the practical requirements of a project: intended use, building performance, safety, cost and delivery. The available data’s examples support the conclusion that firms were expanding expertise in these areas; they do not support a claim that any named material or technology is automatically suitable for every public building.
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Why do training and knowledge transfer matter?
Public-project capability depends on people and organizational knowledge as well as software and design methods. Ratio Design created a year-long project-management training program with tailored internal sessions and peer-to-peer mentorship. The feature presented it as an approach to developing project-management capability, not as a measured program with published outcome data.
McCarthy Holdings identified knowledge concentration and the loss or unavailability of experienced trainers as an operational obstacle. It developed SiteShift Parking software to iterate parking-structure layouts. This example connects two issues: the need to preserve specialized knowledge and the use of a digital tool to support a particular design task. The source does not report quantified savings or show that the software resolves knowledge-transfer challenges across the industry.
These efforts matter because digital tools and low-carbon strategies do not implement themselves. Firms need staff who can manage projects, share knowledge and apply technical approaches in context. The 2023 examples suggest that some AEC companies treated training and institutional knowledge as part of their competitiveness for government work, alongside delivery processes and technology.
How should readers compare the firms and figures?
Compare the type of capability being described, not a supposed league table. The feature provides examples of preconstruction, federal service contracts, design-build proposal work, digital delivery, decarbonization and workforce development, but it does not use a shared scorecard or comparable performance measures across firms.
- Delivery and preconstruction: Look at the reported scope of early services, such as design review, market analysis, schedule development and pricing work.
- Digital delivery and AI: Separate exploration or adoption claims from measured project outcomes. The feature does not quantify a common effect on time, cost, risk or errors.
- Decarbonization: Identify whether an example concerns operational carbon, embodied carbon, renewables, retrofits, electrification or a material approach, and do not treat an initiative as proof of performance.
- Knowledge development: Consider whether the firm described project-management training, peer learning or tools for retaining and applying specialized knowledge.
- Evidence date and basis: Keep 2022 revenue figures and 2023 schedules attached to their dates, and do not compare them directly with current Census spending estimates.
Readers should also distinguish an AEC firm’s reported revenue from public spending. Hensel Phelps’ reported 2022 government-related practice revenue and Jacobs’ reported 2022 federal-contract revenue are company figures from the feature; Census spending estimates measure construction put in place across a defined public or federal category. The measures differ in scope, timing and meaning.
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What is the practical takeaway for government clients?
The evidence supports a measured conclusion: government-focused AEC firms were developing a broader toolkit for projects involving early cost and schedule planning, digital coordination, decarbonization and workforce knowledge. Current Census data show that public construction remains substantial, while the September 2026 estimate was nearly unchanged from August and federal nonresidential construction has its own year-over-year series. Neither fact guarantees a firm’s pipeline or project outcome.
For an owner assessing a prospective team, the most useful questions follow the project’s needs: What work can the team perform before construction? How will digital workflows be governed and coordinated? Which carbon goals apply, and what evidence supports the proposed approach? How will the team retain knowledge and manage staffing continuity? The 2023 cases offer examples to frame those questions, not a current ranking or a substitute for project-specific evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does public construction spending include private projects?
No. The public-construction series concerns public construction work and includes state and local as well as federal construction. Total construction is a broader series that includes private-sector activity.
Why can a federal construction figure differ from total public construction?
The federal series covers only federal activity, while public construction includes state and local work too. The federal nonresidential figure is narrower still, because it excludes federal construction outside the nonresidential category.
Can an AEC firm’s reported government revenue be compared with Census construction spending?
Not as if they were the same measure. Company revenue is tied to a firm’s reporting period and business scope, while Census estimates track construction put in place across a category and are seasonally adjusted annual rates.
What does a budget request tell a contractor about a project?
It shows what an agency sought in budget authority, not necessarily what Congress ultimately appropriated, what an agency awarded, or what construction was completed. Those are separate steps and should be verified independently for a specific project.
