Towards a way out of the crisis? After losing 11% of their turnover in 2020, engineering companies agree to welcome a dynamic of global recovery in all economic sectors in the first quarter of 2021. On the construction side, public engineering contracts increased by 17% in volume. On the industry side, engineering professionals have seen their order intake grow by around 15%. Trends that should impact the entire economy in the medium term, with the engineers involved in the origins of projects, from their conception. Syntec-Ingénierie, the professional engineering federation, looks back on the lessons of its latest barometer as well as those of a study carried out with Vector Plus on public procurement in engineering and works.
“For the first time since the start of the crisis linked to Covid-19, the order intake of engineers is increasing and the nominal occupancy rate of the teams has returned to the 50% mark. This is excellent news for our profession, of course, but also a strong signal for the economy as a whole. Engineers are at the forefront of all projects. They study and design schools, stations, hospitals, autonomous cars, smart factories, etc. which will be built tomorrow. The current restart of their activity therefore announces the restart in the short and medium term of all their economic partners. For the recovery to be effective, it is crucial that public and private contractors continue this dynamic and that particular attention be paid to the automotive and aeronautics sectors, which remain disrupted by the crisis. " Pierre Verzat, president of Syntec-Ingénierie
Construction: a recovery that affects all sectors, boosted by the recovery plan
While a lasting economic crisis was predicted, 2021 could already be the year of recovery. In the first quarter of 2021, engineering tenders published by public players increased by 17%. An increase which confirms the trend already initiated in the last quarter of 2020, when the engineering markets had increased by 21% in volume. Between 2019 and 2020, they had recorded an overall decline of 17%. If all the construction sectors are concerned, it is in the building and infrastructure that the recovery is most marked, with respectively + 49% and + 35% of the number of lots published in the first quarter of 2021. Note: all sectors tend to return to their baseline of early 2019, or even higher for energy.
According to the study carried out by Vector Plus, the drop in calls for tenders observed between 2019 and 2020 is the result of two combined phenomena. First of all, the pre-election effect. With -9% in volume, public orders fell from the first quarter of 2020. The postponement of municipal elections and successive confinements worsened the trend, with again -6% in the second quarter and -2% in the third. While the elections are held in June, the recovery is evident from October, with + 6% of public engineering contracts.
If public procurement seems to have returned to its level of the 2nd quarter of 2019, Syntec-Ingénierie calls on the public authorities to confirm the momentum started at the end of the last quarter of 2020 so that the effects of the recovery are consolidated, as well for the engineers who are at the start of the chain than for all their economic partners: public works companies, suppliers, etc.
What is construction engineering?
Engineering companies intervene upstream of the various projects, from the study phase. They support public actors (local authorities, State, public establishments, etc.) in the design and construction of urban, digital, sports facilities, transport, offices, schools, stations , cultural centers, green spaces, or to preserve biodiversity.
Industry: order intake on the rise in all sectors, except automotive and aeronautics
Likewise, the engineers working with industrial decision-makers are showing optimism for the first time since the start of the crisis. While barely three months ago, only 20% of them declared an increase in their order intake compared to the same period in 2019, they are now 78% to see their activity restart, according to the latest barometer of the profession published by Syntec-Ingénierie. A recovery that makes 82% of respondents say that the sustainability of their business is not threatened. Last November, 1 in 2 companies were still afraid of the future.
While the outlook is improving, the activity of industrial engineers is still slowing down. Only 1/4 of them have 100% occupied teams. In addition, the engineering companies which operate in the majority in the automotive and aeronautic sectors remain weakened by the crisis and believe that the recovery has not yet taken place.
To support technology consulting engineering companies, Syntec-Ingénierie calls on the public authorities to extend the various support measures and to systematically take into account services to industry in all plans for industrial sectors.
What is industrial engineering?
Industrial engineering and technology consulting companies intervene upstream of projects, from the study phase. They support industrial companies, large groups such as SMEs and mid-cap companies in the industry of the future, connected objects, smart grids, renewable energies, autonomous vehicles, traceability, smart city, e-health or even digitalization of processes.
The data comes from:
- Study of public order in engineering and works. Syntec Engineering 2019-2020-2021 barometer produced by Vector Plus. Contracts awarded between January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2021 - Consult the study
- Barometer carried out by Syntec-Ingénierie among its members the week of June 1, 2021. Respondents are companies of all sizes, which operate in industry and construction and in all engineering activity sectors. - Consult the study