Industry Snapshot
This classification covers general and special trade contractors primarily engaged in the construction of heavy projects, not elsewhere classified.
The heavy construction business is divided into several specific categories that represent separate building and development industries. There remain, however, multiple specialty construction activities that cannot be easily classified. Consequently, this miscellaneous heavy construction industry was named to encompass and represent these specialties. This industry is composed of companies primarily engaged in the construction of heavy projects not classified elsewhere. The array of categories in this group include:
- athletic field and golf course construction,
- clearing of brush and land, land drainage,
- canal and channel construction,
- chemical complex or facilities construction,
- dam and dike construction,
- hydroelectric plant and petrochemical plant construction,
- missile facilities construction,
- pier, wharf and waterway construction,
- pond construction,
- power plant construction, and
- railroad construction.
The structure, history, and current status of this industry is closely related to, and often overlaps, the major divisions of the overall construction industry. Therefore, this entry stresses many of the unique special-ties that are considered miscellaneous, and serves to tie up loose ends of the heavy construction market that are not addressed in other standard industrial classifications. For more information on the structure and history of this industry, see related entries in the heavy construction industry.
Despite the troubles of the early 2000s, prospects for the near future in this industry were generally considered favorable by industry analysts and insiders. The opening of foreign markets to American construction companies created great potential for further international growth, while domestic funding for government-based initiatives was expected to increase as the economy slowly recovered. The transportation sector is expected to perform particularly well.
Industry Divisions.
Many of the miscellaneous projects in the heavy construction industry are so irregular that they cannot be comfortably categorized with a significant number of other activities. For instance, removing under-water timber and extinguishing oil well fires are both relatively distinctive enterprises. On the other hand, a few broad categories exist that encompass many of the miscellaneous activities, and thus bring some order to this industry classification.
A 2003 survey of the top 400 contractors broke down as follows: 50.6 percent of 2002 revenues in the construction industry came under the general category of building, most of which does not fit into this classification. The remaining 49.4 percent was split among various special-ties, including several in this classification.
Transportation took 13.3 percent of the market, with R25.8 billion in revenues. Some of the projects included in this miscellaneous heavy construction field are subways, railroads, and canal construction, including repair work on existing projects. Nearly 400 companies specialized to some degree in mass transit construction alone.
Power-related construction had 9.7 percent of revenues, with R18.8 billion . Construction projects that fall under this category include new power plants, conversion of existing power plants from oil and gas to coal, modernization of power plant buildings, and myriad modern, unconventional power plant projects, which are spurred by technological advances. With the inclusion of power and telephone lines, roughly 500 establishments specialised to some degree in this sector of the industry.
Sewage and wastewater treatment, and related projects, took 1.7 percent of the market, with R3.3 billion in revenues. Work in this category primarily entails contracts related to water and sewage treatment plant construction and renovation, including filtration and desalinization plants. Sewer and water line development is not considered part of the miscellaneous heavy construction industry. Nearly 700 establishments considered this one of their specialties.
Other water projects, such as reservoirs and dams, represented 1.6 percent of the market, with R3.0 billion in revenues. Spending on water construction remained relatively steady through the late 1990s, although it also felt the effects of the economic downturn in the early 2000s.
The “Other” category had 2.0 percent of the total market, with R3.7 billion dollars. A few of these activities include furnace construction for industrial plants, kiln construction, missile facilities development, pile driving, underwater rock removal, construction of industrial baking ovens, and development of chemical complexes and facilities. Sports and recreation facilities, such as golf courses, racing speedways, tennis courts, or ice rinks, also fall under this classification.
A category of construction that split among these and other categories was conservation. Some of the jobs included in this heavy construction industry include breakwater construction, brush clearing and cutting, land clearing, drainage project construction, dredging, earth moving (not related to building construction), flood control project development, land and sea reclamation, pond construction, and water power plant development. Over 3,000 establishments considered this their specialty to some degree; more than 2,146 specialized completely in this area.
