Striping-only sales for the 2020 Striping 50 totaled $204,420,374 – a decline from last year’s $215 million, which was way up from 2017 when the Striping 50 striping-only sales totaled just over $139 million. It’s the first step back for striping-only sales since 2014.
Last year we attributed the jump in sales to the fact that several large striping-focused contractors joined the list. It’s just as likely that because a number of large contractors – specifically a number of large paving-focused contractors – joined the list this year, the emphasis on striping among list members has lessened.
Total Sales for the Striping 50
Total sales for all work done by the contractors making up the 2020 Striping 50 was $1,536,739,758 – up more than $450 million over last year’s $1.070 billion, which was up over $926 million in 2017.
This year striping-only sales represented 13% of total sales for the Striping 50, down from 20% last year, from 15% in 2017. Other revenue was generated as follows:
- 33 companies pave
- 41 companies sealcoat
- 38 companies repair pavement
Profit Margin Shift
Profit margins for the Striping 50 continue to shift toward the high end, and just like last year (and just like other segment this year) the biggest changes were seen in the middle margin range.
- Those reporting the greatest margins, more than 15%, jumped substantially to 49% from 37% last year and even surpassing 48% in 2017
- Contractors reporting margins in the 10-15% range dropped to 22% (41% last year and 25% in 2017)
- 25% of the Striping 50 reported margins in the 5-10% range, up from 16% last year, which was down from 23% in 2017
- Those reporting margins of 3-5% remained stable at 4%
- None of the Striping 50 reported margins of less than 3%
Where Stripers Work
All but one Striping 50 company generates sales from parking lot work, with six companies reporting 100% of sales from parking lots and another 10 companies reporting 90% or more from parking lots. Work on roads and streets generates sales for 39 companies; nine companies indicated they work on highways
The Striping 50s’ Customers
- 50 contractors work for commercial/industrial customers
- 39 contractors work for multi-family residential customers
- 41 contractors work for municipal clients
- 32 contractors work for single-family homeowners
Replacing the Striping 50s’ Equipment
Only seven companies reported it would cost less than $500,000 to replace their equipment. Another four reported it would cost $500,000-$1 million to replace their fleet; 10 companies said it would cost $1-$2 million; and 28 companies reported it would cost more than $2 million to replace their equipment.
