Spanish construction companies have work for a while despite the sharp rise in costs as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the forecasts of recession in the European Union. In their latest results up to September, four of them have reported historic contracting levels thanks to the drive from the United States, which has become the new mecca for infrastructures.
The Biden Administration has launched the Build Back Better program to recover the economy after the pandemic, which has turned the United States into a source of opportunity. The effort is around two trillion dollars and the infrastructure part is 370,000 million, with projects ranging from highways to airports, including hospitals and services.
"Now the opportunities in the United States are enormous," said the CEO of ACS, Juan Santamaría, in the recent presentation of the group's results. His is the Spanish construction company with the greatest exposure to the country, thanks above all to its subsidiary Turner. This push has allowed it to raise the order book as a whole to 70,417 million euros at the end of September, which represents a historical record for the group. Of this amount, 54% corresponds to North America, compared to 28% in Asia-Pacific and barely 8% in Spain.
Its subsidiary Turner has just been awarded for 950 million the construction of a materials plant for electric car batteries. At the end of November, a project of 3,400 million was carried out with two local partners to build a battery factory for Honda and LG. “When it comes to the United States, I could be talking for hours about the order book and the future,” Santamaría told analysts.
The US government's plan involves mobilizing resources to modernize the country's infrastructure, which is outdated. The so-called Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act aims to update roads, bridges, railways, telecommunications infrastructure and water services. It is a powerful international claim with which it aspires to generate 1.5 million jobs in ten years.
The second Spanish construction company with the largest order book is Sacyr, with 53,122 million euros, 16% more and a figure once again unknown to date. The majority, 81% of the total, are concessions, with a value of 43,131 million, and within this group the United States has made its contribution this year with the awarding of highways in Texas and Florida.
"Expansion in the United States is one of the objectives set in Sacyr's 2021-2025 strategic plan, which sets the goal of reaching a third of the group's turnover in English-speaking markets," say company sources.
Spanish companies have strengthened ties with public administrations, but they are also exploring opportunities in the private sector, in areas such as data centers, in which Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Google work. Estimates from construction companies point to opportunities of 23,000 million dollars just to build technological buildings.
Ferrovial has just inaugurated the expansion of an important highway in Washington after addressing investments for 3,600 million. It is the closest thing to a smart highway, with all kinds of telemetry innovations and digitization solutions.
However, Ferrovial's real coup in the United States came in June, when it took over the expansion project for the new terminal at New York's JFK airport after buying a stake in the consortium that will develop the project for $1.14 billion.
“With sales of more than 2,600 million euros and a workforce of around 5,000 employees, the United States is one of the key countries for the company's development, as established in its Horizon 24 plan. Ferrovial's objective is to continue investing in the country”, which is considered a “priority”, they affirm from the company.
The portfolio of the group chaired by Rafael del Pino has also just reached its all-time high, with 13,109 million euros, 2.3% more than a year ago. This figure does not include pre-award awards for 3,200 million euros, among which the one for the new Toronto subway line stands out, once again in North America, for 2,300 million.
The group of Spanish construction companies with record orders and US orientation is closed by OHLA, which was the last to offer the results until September and which has estimated its portfolio at 7,027 million euros. In your case, this volume guarantees you 25.5 months of uninterrupted activity.
The United States accounts for 48% of OHLA's construction business, making it the leading region, ahead of Europe. The group controlled by the Amodio family stands out for accumulating a large number of small and medium-sized works, to the point that 70% of the contracts have a value of less than 100 million euros.
However, when betting abroad, the volume increases, as is the case with the United States. OHLA's three largest awards are in this country, led by the Purple Line Light Rail Transit project in Maryland, valued at 824 million euros.
The second main contract corresponds to the I-5 highway in California and is valued at 339 million euros. The third in the classification is that of the South Corridor Rapid Train of Florida, valued at 247 million.
The new investments respond above all to the plan to recover US growth after the pandemic. However, the country had been preparing for the investment cycle for some time, even during the period of Donald Trump as president. Just before the covid, a report by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) already invited Spanish and international construction companies with a claim for works in the country for close to 100,000 million euros.
Of the six large Spanish construction companies, there are two, FCC and Acciona, that do not report records in their respective order books, but they do not want to miss out on the North American party either. FCC is working on a large solid waste project in California valued at 1,500 million euros, while Acciona has its main contract in Minnesota and the 2,340 million river channel being built in this northern state.
