Staying up-to-date on technology and surviving an industrywide labor shortage.
After poring over the numbers for months, one expression that could be used to describe the companies that comprise our CC100 list may be: Survival of the fittest.
Last year's CC100 report started with a quote from the National Association of Home Builders that a “dramatic downward correction in housing production still is underway.” Little did we know then that the drama was only just beginning.
Despite a challenging home-building environment, the concrete business is in the midst of a historic boom.
In December, 2004, The Brookings Institution, an independent research organization, issued a report on the forces that will affect U.S. building trends over the next 25 years.
Concrete contractors are like farmers—things are never perfect. In the hot years of the late 1990s, labor shortages abounded and quality suffered. Fighting to find business and get decent margins were the main woes during the cold years from 2001 through 2003, then in 2004, just as business warmed again, steel and cement prices spiked and margins suffered.
Overall the CC100 contractors had a pretty good year in 2003, and most are having an even better start to 2004. This article includes the top 100 contractors for 2003 by revenue. Also shown are the top 20 “pure” commercial concrete contractors, the 20 fastest growning companies, and the top decorative, residential, and tilt-up contractors.
"What doesn't destroy me makes me stronger" could be the nation's slogan for 2001, and that's also an appropriate description of the concrete construction industry's year. It was indeed a challenging year—as is the first half of 2002. Still, many contractors found ways to make their businesses grow—even dramatically—while some saw significant declines in revenue. The 2002 CC100, our list of the nation's top concrete contractors, tells an interesting and encouraging story.