Engineers’ positive market projections inch upward

The American Council of Engineering Companies’ newest Engineering Business Sentiment report shows engineering firm executives have an extremely positive outlook on their firms’ financial standing (+86), the industry (+83), and the U.S. economy (+39). Optimism about the U.S. economy, specifically, has increased four points from last quarter and is up 54 points from its low of -15 in Q3 2022.

The survey behind the Engineering Business Sentiment report offers a comprehensive look at current and future conditions in engineering and overall sentiment toward the economy using a “Net Rating” system with zero being neutral. The higher or lower the number, the stronger the sentiment (positive or negative). This quarter’s respondents included 650 executives across the engineering and design services industry. Among additional report findings:

• Future hiring. Looking ahead, 74 percent of respondents predict there will be an increase in hiring over the next 12 months at their firms;
• Inflation impact. Concern over the impact of inflation remains elevated as 70 percent or respondent at least somewhat agree that they are extremely concerned about rising labor and materials costs; and,
• Artificial intelligence. Nearly half the executives say that their firm uses AI either internally (27 percent), externally (2 percent) or both (19 percent).

“The ACEC Research Institute continues to have its finger on the pulse of the engineering industry, and this quarter’s robust survey response demonstrates the Institute’s reach and results,” says Board Chair Michael Carragher.

“Engineering firm executives’ outlook is overwhelmingly positive, and we see some specific bright spots in the data. This quarter, recession concerns continue to subside and are down 23 points from a year ago, along with supply chain issues that have fallen from 40 percent at this time last year to 16 percent this quarter,” adds Senior Research Consultant Joe Bates.