Design Firm Revenue Jumped 7.4% as the AI Boom Reshapes the ENR Top 500
ENR’s 2026 Top 500 Design Firms booked $158.7B last year, up 7.4%, with data-center and telecom work doing nearly all the lifting and Jacobs back at No. 1.
Saipem Starts $1.75B Pipelaying for Romania’s Neptun Deep, Europe’s Big Bet on Black Sea Gas
Saipem has started installing 160 km of Black Sea pipeline under a $1.75B contract, the most visible piece of Romania’s $4.7B Neptun Deep gas project.
Buy America’s 55% Content Test Lands October 1, and Estimators Aren’t Ready
From October 1, 2026, Buy America adds a 55% domestic-content cost test for manufactured products on FHWA-funded jobs. The burden falls on estimators.
Construction’s Suicide Problem Draws New Funding From States and Building Trades
Construction’s suicide rate is among the highest of any industry. In 2026, New York’s building trades and Minnesota are funding peer-support programs.
Low-Carbon Cement Reaches Commercial Scale as Sublime Pushes Its Holyoke Plant Toward Startup
Sublime Systems’ first commercial low-carbon cement plant in Holyoke aims to make kiln-free cement at scale, even after losing an $87M DOE award.
Battery-Electric Excavators Move From Demo to Daily Driver at CONEXPO 2026
Every major OEM now ships a battery-electric excavator. CONEXPO 2026 showed electric construction equipment moving from demo to daily driver, on cost.
NEOM Halts The Line Until After 2030 as Saudi Arabia Redirects Megaproject Cash
NEOM won’t restart The Line until after 2030 as Saudi Arabia’s PIF cuts construction spending ~60% and shifts to ports, power, and data centers.
Construction Labor Shortage Meets a Visa Push as H-2B Doubles and an H-2C Bill Advances
With construction’s labor shortage biting, FY2026 nearly doubles H-2B visas and a proposed H-2C visa would add 65,000 more, even as enforcement disrupts a third of firms.
Green Steel Moves From Slide Deck to Steel Mill as Stegra Closes In on First Output
Stegra’s hydrogen-based green steel plant in Boden, Sweden secured EUR1.4B more financing and aims for first output in 2026, with buyers like Microsoft lining up supply.
Canadian Lumber Duties Fall in August, but a New 10% Tariff Keeps Framing Costs High
Canadian lumber duties drop to about 25.9% in August, but a new 10% Section 232 tariff offsets the cut, holding effective costs near 36% as framing prices climb.
Penn Station Rebuild Names a Master Developer: Halmar and Skanska Win the $8B Job
Amtrak and the DOT picked Halmar and Skanska, as Penn Transformation Partners, to lead the $8B Penn Station rebuild, with $200M added to push design toward a 2027 start.
Maryland Splits Key Bridge Reconstruction Into Four Contracts Worth Up to $4.8B
Maryland will procure the Key Bridge reconstruction as four separate contracts worth up to $4.8B, led by a $3.5B-$4B design-build for the cable-stayed main span.
Construction Software Consolidation Accelerates as Procore Bets on Agentic AI
Construction software consolidation is accelerating in 2026 as Procore folds in Datagrid’s agentic AI and rivals race to connect fragmented project data.
AECOM Hits Record Backlog as Fluor’s New Awards Slump: A Split Q1 for Big Construction
AECOM posted a record construction backlog in Q1 2026 while Fluor’s new awards fell 54%, splitting the big engineering and construction firms by end market.
EPA Moves to Redefine ‘Begin Actual Construction,’ Letting Projects Pour Foundations Before Air Permits
EPA’s proposed rule would redefine ‘begin actual construction,’ letting developers build non-emitting structures before securing a Clean Air Act NSR air permit.
Networked Geothermal Moves From Pilot to Buildout as Utilities Scale Thermal Energy Networks
Networked geothermal is moving from pilot to buildout in 2026 as utilities expand thermal energy networks, with a DOE-funded second loop coming to Framingham.
Architecture Billings Index Falls to 48.3 in April as Design Demand Stays Soft
The Architecture Billings Index slipped to 48.3 in April 2026, a 28th straight month below growth, even as project inquiries rose for the third month running.
Construction Jobs Barely Moved in April as Residential Trades Shed Work
Construction added just 9,000 jobs in April 2026 and went nowhere over the year, as nonresidential trades hired and residential specialty contractors cut staff.