If 2019 proves to be a high-water mark of some duration for the pandemic-shocked U.S. economy, there’s no doubt the nation’s electrical contractors (ECs) closed the year out in style. The largest ECs, represented in EC&M’s annual Top 50 Electrical Contractors ranking by revenues, crushed another revenue record. Combined revenues hit $32.7 billion for the 2020 Top 50 (based on 2019 revenue numbers), a nearly 14% increase from 2018, the biggest one-year increase since 2014, when they spiked 39% to $21.8 billion.
But amidst the pandemic wreaking havoc in so many ways, that now seems oh-so-long ago. It’s a near certainty that the Top 50’s decade-long streak of year-over-year revenue growth will end in 2020. Rocked by the economy’s collapse, the industry’s revenues are sure to slide this year, and contractors could be facing a protracted recovery into 2021 and beyond. Lashed heavily to building and construction activity, contractors’ fortunes will depend on how quickly that turns back up and which sectors rise or fall due to long-term changes wrought by the virus.
