Resource
Study Overview
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) commissioned a study to better understand the impact that an enacted infrastructure bill would have on the Engineering and Design Services industry. The study was conducted by Rockport Analytics, an independent market and economic research firm using both publicly available data and proprietary analysis. The infrastructure assessment utilizes an econometric model that was developed by Rockport Analytics for the ACEC Research Institute in creating the 2021-2025 Engineering Industry Forecast (March 2021). Rockport also utilized an input/output model to help translate the impact that higher levels of economic output in A/E Services would have on jobs, wages, value-added, and taxes generated in the sector.
The Engineering and Design Services Forecast:
- Utilizes the historical trends established in the earlier phases of research
- Analyzes the trends, momentum, and correlation of A/E Services with key economic drivers
- Builds an econometric model to estimate A/E Services revenue using the most statistically valid set of predictor variables
- Leverages the econometric model to generate a forecast of A/E Services revenue over the next six years (2021 – 2026)
- “Shocks” the model for various infrastructure spending scenarios
- Compares the Economic Output in A/E Services in each of the chosen scenarios against the baseline forecast
- Compares the impact on jobs, wages value added (GDP) and tax revenue against the baseline forecast
- Data Sources
The data used come from both U.S. government sources and private data sources. Key data sources include:
- Census Bureau – Statistics of U.S. Business (SUBS)
- Census Bureau – Quarterly Services Survey (QSS)
- Census Bureau – Value of Construction Put in Place
- BLS Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (QCEW) Program
- BEA (NIPA) National Income & Product Accounts
- Moody’s Analytics Macroeconomic Model
- Other public and private sources