Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases its Infrastructure Report Card, providing a snapshot of how the nation’s infrastructure systems are faring in various categories. Today, the organization unveiled its 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, awarding an overall “C” grade — the highest mark given by ASCE since the assessment began in 1998.
“We have seen the difference investment can make in improving infrastructure,” said Feniosky Peña-Mora, 2025 ASCE President. “After releasing this report eight times, this is the first time for a ‘C’ grade, the highest ever awarded. While this showcases that investment leads to direct results, the job is not yet done.”
What does the grade mean?
At first glance, a “C” might not sound too reassuring, but in the historical context of U.S. infrastructure improvements, it’s a sign of progress. While the Report Card shows that 2021 investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have started to pay off, more work and investment is needed to overcome decades of underinvestment and adapt the country’s transportation networks, water systems, electric grid, and broadband services to meet current and future demands. For example, ASCE projects a $3.7 trillion gap between current planned infrastructure investments and what must transpire in order to have the nation’s infrastructure in good working order — an increase from the $2.59 trillion gap reported four years ago.
What categories are assessed?
Looking at the 18 categories rated in the Report Card (see infographic below) in an “A” to “F” school report card format, the EC&M audience, which includes electrical professionals working for electrical contracting firms, electrical design firms, and in plant facility roles, works in most of the vertical infrastructure markets that were assessed, especially aviation, bridges, energy, ports, rail, roads, schools, transit and wastewater. Overall, stormwater and transit tied for the lowest grade of D in 2025, while ports earned the highest grade of B. The new category of broadband received a C+ grade. Both energy (D+) and rail (B-) received declining grades due to safety and capacity concerns.
What does this mean for the energy market?
For those working in the electric utility space, the Report Card’s findings emphasize the urgency of modernizing the nation’s aging power infrastructure. The increased vulnerability of electrical systems to extreme weather events and natural disasters presents significant risks to businesses and households.
For more analysis on the Energy sector’s grade of “D-“ and what it means for the aging electrical grid, read the piece by Rod Walton, Managing Editor for EnergyTech (a sister publication to EC&M). In it, he explains why a D- represents a failing grade in the era of electrification and artificial intelligence (AI) and highlights some sobering statistics, including why a $578-billion funding gap and decline of U.S. energy infrastructure is cause for concern, especially in light of future demand needs for data centers and other electrification within industry, as well as the fact that energy generation and delivery will require at least $1.89 trillion of near-term future investment to reach a healthy state of repair and keep up with the era of expanding electrification.
What does this mean for industry in general?
Editors at Endeavor Business Media, EC&M’s parent company, have compiled an excellent Report Card overview in which different brands have dug deeper into the grades in specific market segments and evaluated what differences investments in certain areas could make. Check the Infrastructure Pulse page for updates and more in-depth analysis on specific verticals.
After improvements in the last two report cards, the overarching message focuses on building on the current momentum. According to Darren Olson, chair of the ASCE’s Committee on America’s Infrastructure (the group of about 52 civil engineers who worked on the report cards), it is critical for the current administration and Congress to maintain that investment. Currently, disbursement of remaining funds appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are temporarily halted after an executive order signed by President Trump paused the funding. What happens with that funding going forward will obviously be key to success in this area. As the report emphasizes, sustained investment in infrastructure is an investment in American jobs and the economy.
