Having reported combined electrical design revenues of $2.195 billion for 2019, 6% less than revenues reported by last year’s Top 40 and the first decline in years, top firms are likely to absorb another collective revenue hit in 2020. Many of the three-quarters of companies that rated the 2019 business climate strong, and of the 60% that said revenues topped expectations, see a challenging second half on the horizon. Of the 35 respondents offering predictions, 17 firms (or 37%) expected full-year revenues to show a decline, up from the 21% of last year’s top firms who foresaw a 2019 decline. Also, only 53% said they expected backlog to increase in 2020, following a year in which 83% said it had increased. That’s a big drop from Top 40 surveys dating back three years, over which coming-year backlog growth predictions ranged from 76% to 95%. However, the magnitude of predicted change in either direction was mostly seen staying in single digits, mirroring the change range reported for 2019.
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