Market Structure of Engineering Services Firms
URS Corporation (URS) is a fully integrated engineering, construction and technical services firm that offers program management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure services (URS, 2010). With approximately 46,500 worldwide employees and total global revenues of $9.25 Billion in fiscal year (FY) 2009, URS ranks as one of the largest engineering design firms in the world. URS is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and can be found under the symbol URS. URS is classified as an Engineering Services firm by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which is represented by the NAICS Code 541330. This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in applying physical laws and principles of engineering in the design, development, and utilization of machines, materials, instruments, structures, processes, and systems. The assignments undertaken by these establishments may involve any of the following activities: provision of advice, preparation of feasibility studies, preparation of preliminary and final plans and designs, provision of technical services during the construction or installation phase, inspection and evaluation of engineering projects, and related services [ (NAICS, August) ]. The Engineering Services industry is highly competitive and is comprised of many establishments. As reported in the 2007 United States (US) Economic Census, there are approximately 58,000 establishments (i.e. engineering firms) in the US that employ almost one million people, with revenues exceeding $180 Billion annually [ (2007 Economic Census, 2010) ]. URS is one of the biggest Engineering Services firms in the US, however since the market is so large and there is such an abundance of competition, URS’ market share is very small at less than approximately 3% (i.e. URS annual US
References: 2007 Economic Census. (2010, June 25). Retrieved September 30, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/ ENR. (2010, April 26). The Top 500 Design Frims. Engineering News-Record . NAICS. (August, 3 2010). Retrieved September 30, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/ URS. (2010, September). Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.urscorp.com