More than any other list the list of Pavement Repair Top Contractors has fluctuated between 50 and 75 companies based on contractor participation. The 2018 Pavement Repair list returns to 75 companies for the third time since 2014 and the history of Pavement Repair-only sales is as follows:
- 2018 – $265,480,021 (list size 75 companies)
- 2017 – $165 million in sales (50)
- 2016 – $255 million in sales (75)
- 2015 – $269 million in sales (50)
- 2014 – $141 million in sales (75)
So this year’s list represents the second-highest total of repair-only sales, coming very close to the 2015 peak number – when the list contained only 50 companies.
What accounts for all this fluctuation? Hard to say but we have learned that there are few if any “pavement repair contractors.” Most contractor do repair, but they do it within the context of other work such as paving or sealcoating.
Compounding that is that many contractors do not track repair work. Depending on the degree of detail in their estimating and job costing systems, contractors often lump the repair work they perform within the main job – an overlay, for example. So while we track pavement repair dollars, we do so knowing we are a bit handcuffed by the reporting and accounting aspects of the industry’s contractors.
That said, pavement repair is unquestionably a significant part of the industry. As in years’ past it represents the second-highest segment-only sales total of the four lists, sitting behind only the paving sales segment.
And that second-place ranking applies to total company sales as well. Total sales for all the work the 2018 Pavement Repair 75 did was $1,287,824,012 – about equal to the $1.28 billion of 2016. (Total sales for the 2017 Pavement Repair 50 was $813 million.)
Because pavement repair-only sales account for 21% of total list sales – 1% greater than 2017 and 2016 – it’s clear that this work goes hand-in-hand with other pavement maintenance work. Contractors in the Pavement Repair 75 perform other work as follows:
- 83 contractors perform striping work (88%) though striping is a much less significant aspect of the business
- 66 perform paving work (88%)
- 61 perform sealcoating work (72%)
Margins Shift Down...And Up
Profit margins for the 2018 Pavement Repair 75 shifted in both directions:
- 38% reported margins greater than 15% (down from 44% in 2017 but up from 36% in 2016, 28% in 2015 and 34% in 2014);
- 28% reported margins between 10-15% (down from 33% last year and from 36% in both 2015 and 2014)
That means that 66% of the Pavement Repair 75 generated more than 10% profit for their work (compared to 77% in 2017, 62% in 2016, 64% in 2015 and 60% in 2014).
Where the Pavement Repair 75 Work
All of the Pavement Repair 75 indicated they generate sales from parking lot work, with 11% generating 100% of their sales from parking lots and another 20% reporting 90% or more of sales from parking lots.
Roads and highways make up a decent percentage as well with 20% of companies reporting sales from highway work and 32% report sales from streets and roads.
The Pavement Repair 75’s Customers
- 73 contractors work for commercial/industrial customers (97%)
- 63 contractors work for multi-family residential customers (74%)
- 53 contractors work for municipal clients (71%)
- 36 contractors work for single-family homeowners (48%)
