Subcontractors on Engineering News-Record’s 2018 Top 600 Specialty Contractors list generated a total $124 billion of revenue in 2017, up 10% from 2016 and marking the seventh year in a row that earnings for this group increased. ENR said the “hot” market subcontractors are enjoying right now should last at least another 12 to 18 months.
Mechanical, electrical and utility contractors dominated the first 10 spots on ENR’s list. Some firms are growing through acquisitions, but as the list of investors grows, so does the dollar amounts of the deals.
Although many specialty contractors are enjoying not having to beat the bushes in search of work, they still face challenges. One is the risk of taking on too much work, leaving those that overextend themselves vulnerable to cash flow, management and staffing shortfalls. General contractors also have become competitors in some markets, choosing to control work quality and production schedules by self-performing jobs they previously subcontracted. Meanwhile, the demand for specialty contractors has brought firms into the industry that have little or no expertise in the work they are bidding for.
Keep reading this article at: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/specialty-contractors-market-hot-says-enr/540698/
Each and every month, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) compiles and publishes a list of federal contracts awarded to Georgia businesses. The list comes complete with point-of-contact information on the awardees, the name of the awarding agency, the dollar value of the contract, and much more.
After four years and expenses of more than $700,000, a California-based small business advocate on Thursday won an agreement from the Justice and Defense departments to pay his legal fees for litigation forcing the government to release confidential contracting data.
A recent Virginia Supreme Court case underscores the hurdles government subcontractors may face when they seek to enforce common teaming agreement terms (see: 
In a case of first impression, a Court of Appeals has held that a government subcontractor’s claim for reimbursement of its actual indirect costs was time-barred.
If an agreement qualifies as a “subcontract” under a government contract, then it may be subject to certain flow-down, compliance, and reporting requirements. These requirements are intended to protect the government’s interests, and have significant ramifications for contractors, e.g., increasing transaction costs, expanding potential areas of exposure.