Infrastructure construction, often referred to as non-building construction, dominates a substantial share of overall construction spending. As of May 2023, Census.gov data revealed that the annualized spending across sectors such as Transportation, Communications, Power, Highway and Street, Sewage and Waste Disposal, Water Supply, Conservation, and Manufacturing totaled an impressive $603 Billion, representing some of the fastest growing segments of the industry. Fueled in part by the infrastructure bill, reshoring initiatives, and other trends, expenditures in street and sewer construction grew by 20%, while the manufacturing sector recorded a notable year-over-year growth rate of greater than 75%. This stands in stark contrast to the residential sector which saw spending decline year over year and commercial real estate which registered only single digit growth.
Given these dynamics, it comes as no surprise that tech companies within the construction space are actively pursuing solutions curated for the non residential, non commercial sectors of the industry. On November 2, we will unveil our highly anticipated annual Infrastructure Top 50 List, featuring top and emerging solutions in the smart infrastructure space. We have extended the deadline for solution providers to submit their applications to be featured within the 2023 list to Thursday, October 26. In the meantime, below is a preview of five things we anticipate seeing within this year’s list.
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1. Automous & Remote-Operated Tech
Remote sensing technology will be everywhere - From windmill machinery operating hundreds of feet in the air to sewer and pipelines extending for miles underground, non-building construction can be very difficult to inspect. This makes the sector ideal for drones and other types of autonomous and remotely operated IoT. We will definitely see a lot of them on the list.
2. Battles Between Established Groups
Long established players like Trimble, Bentley, and HCSS will keep bolting on features to defend their motes in the sector, while other major rivals like PROCORE, Autodesk, and Nemetschek continue to make inroads in design and construction applications for infrastructure.
3. Rise in Cleantech
The drive for Green Infrastructure will lead to a proliferation of solutions and tools designed to help infrastructure achieve energy positive, carbon negative ambitions.
4. Continuation of AI Boom
AI on everything. From parametric design to predictive maintenance, we can expect to see a host of tools leveraging AI and Machine Learning to drive efficiency in the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure.
5. Specialized Solutions
No end in sight for point solutions. If the construction sector is characterized by extreme fragmentation, infrastructure design and construction technology demonstrates that even its fragments are segmented into separate parts. We will see solutions, not only tailored to design, construction, or maintenance of this area, but we will also see solutions honed specifically for different types of infrastructure. With $100 billion plus sector sub segments like Highway and Street, Power, and Manufacturing, many will be betting that the market has room to support large but specific solutions.
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