This year, our list of top metal builders shows a steady industry with the largest contractors and erectors reporting just a slight drop in the average tonnage and square footage of the metal buildings they constructed between 2022 and 2023.
Again this year, we have separated the list of 20 top erectors from the list of 100 top contractors. We do this simply so we do not end up counting work on the same building twice—once for the contractor furnishing the metal building system and again for the erector putting up the steel.
This does cause complications, however, because some companies furnish and erect but also are contracted only to erect a building, making them both contractors and erectors. Rather than separate those numbers out in the same entity, we identify those companies
as contractors.
The two lists make it difficult to compare trends such as building size or market share changes over the years. However, to alleviate this, we identified the 100 largest companies regardless—either contractor or erector—and show how their averages compare to previous years.
Overview
The average tonnage reported by metal building contractors and erectors saw slight reductions from 2022 to 2023. In contrast, the changes in square footage present a different scenario. Contractors experienced a 24 percent increase in square footage year-over-year, whereas erectors reported a substantial decline of 37 percent. For the 100 largest contractors, the tonnage decreased slightly while the square footage increased nearly 25 percent.
The 20 biggest metal building constructors experienced a significant decline in both tonnage (a 14% decrease, with a year-over-year drop of 16%) and square footage (a 37% decrease, with a year-over-year drop of 13%). Following a recovery in 2022 after several challenging years, these figures suggest a slight regression in the industry to levels observed between 2020 and 2021.
Among the 100 largest builders, whether contractors or erectors, there were similar, though less severe, declines. The average tonnage fell by 3 percent, while square footage decreased by 26 percent.
Contractors List
Average Tonnage 2023: 1,742 tons
Average Tonnage 2022: 1,877 tons
Percent Decrease: -7%
Average Square Footage 2023: 407,839 sf
Average Square Footage 2022: 327,874 sf
Percent Increase: 24%
Erectors List
Average Tonnage 2023: 4,096 tons
Average Tonnage 2022: 4,763 tons
Percent Decrease: -14%
Average Square Footage 2023: 849,108 sf
Average Square Footage 2022: 1,355,808 sf
Percent Decrease: -37%
Top 100 of Contractors and Erectors Combined
Average Tonnage 2023: 2,475 tons
Average Tonnage 2022: 2,561 tons
Percent Decrease: -3%
Average Square Footage 2023: 535,749 sf
Average Square Footage 2022: 721,297 sf
Percent Decrease: -26%
Market share
One of the key insights from monitoring the largest metal building contractors and erectors is whether the industry is experiencing consolidation. We merged the lists to pinpoint the 100 largest entities, irrespective of their business type. We then analyzed the market share of the top 10 contractors and erectors compared to the next 80. This year, their combined market share rose slightly to 69 percent from last year’s 60.8 percent. Additionally, a red trendline on the chart over the past 12 years illustrates a gradual increase in market share.
Due to a change in our methodology two years ago, where we started producing separate lists for contractors and erectors, we isolated just the contractors for comparison with previous years. After a modest increase last year to a 57.9 percent market share for the top 10 contractors—likely influenced by the exclusion of erectors from the combined list—this year’s survey revealed a significant increase to 70.3 percent, marking a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase. Since we began tracking in 2011, this represents the highest market share held by the 10 largest contractors.
The data presented in the charts show during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a notable decrease in the amount of tonnage purchased and the square footage installed by metal building contractors. Following a significant high in 2018—the largest in over a decade—the industry saw a downturn. The most recent figures indicate that in 2023, the total tonnage reduced to 1,742, down from 1,875.5 in 2022, making it the smallest amount of tonnage acquired since 2014 and slightly below the 1,797.9 seen in 2021. Additionally, the average square footage handled by contractors dropped to 407,839 in 2023 from 467,449 the previous year, dipping beneath the 2021 level and reaching the lowest point since 2014.
Examining the combined square footage data for the 100 largest contractors and erectors, there were notable rises in both 2021 and 2022, largely due to the introduction of a separate list for erectors who typically handle larger-scale projects. In 2023, however, there was a modest decrease in the tonnage purchased. In terms of square footage, the situation diverges, with the 2023 survey indicating a purchase of nearly 200,000 square feet less than in the previous year. Although these numbers surpass those from 2020, to find a year with comparable square footage purchases, one must look as far back as 2019.
2024 Top Metal Builders Rankings
Top contractors by square footage
Top erectors by square footage
