News / From the associates

Deloitte’s “Global Powers of Construction” report forecasts a slowdown in global construction activity for 2024. Output growth stands at 3.1%, down from the previous year, with a further slowdown expected to 2.3% in 2025. The outlook remains constrained by well-established structural challenges—a shortage of skilled labor, rising raw material costs, fragile supply chains, and growing pressures related to sustainability goals—which continue to impact operators’ profitability and planning capabilities. Despite this, the medium- to long-term outlook remains positive: between 2025 and 2030, the sector is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 5.5%, driven by infrastructure investments, urbanization, and the digital and energy transitions.

From a geographic perspective, 2024 shows varied trends. In Europe, production is contracting by an average of about 2%, bucking the trend compared to the United States and China, which are showing greater resilience, while Japan is growing at a more moderate pace. On a global scale, analysis of the top 100 listed companies confirms a slight decline in total revenues, down to $1.98 trillion (-1% year-over-year), against a highly concentrated market structure: large Chinese conglomerates continue to account for over half of total revenues (51.2%), maintaining a dominant role on the international stage.

In this context, Europe emerges as the relatively most dynamic region. With 42 companies in the Top 100, European groups recorded revenue growth of 6.2% in 2024, reaching $436 billion and a 22% share of the global total—significantly higher than that of Japan and the United States. France and Spain lead the results in absolute terms, but Italy stands out for the highest relative growth, with a 20.6% increase in revenue, although it still accounts for a limited share of the global total (1.4%).

Within the European landscape, Italy also ranks fifth in terms of revenue share and second in terms of average revenue per company, a sign of an industrial structure concentrated among a few large operators.

Two key strategic drivers underpin the performance of major European groups: diversification and internationalization. Companies on the continent generate 43.7% of their revenue from non-core activities—such as real estate and industrial services—and approximately 72% of sales in foreign markets, levels significantly higher than those of their Asian and U.S. competitors.

Alongside these strategies, the report highlights the growing role of smart construction as an enabler for improving productivity, margins, and financial strength. In 2024, the Top 30 European groups recorded a core EBIT margin of 3.1%, the lowest figure in the last four years, underscoring the need to address operational processes. The adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, automation, and advanced digital systems is progressively transforming the entire value chain—from design to construction, through to asset management and maintenance—helping to reduce risks, improve planning, and increase project predictability.

Against a backdrop of growing urbanization—with 70% of the world’s population expected to live in urban areas by 2050—and significant infrastructure investments linked to the digital and energy transitions, smart construction is thus emerging not only as a technological factor but as a strategic lever to strengthen the competitiveness of major European groups in global markets and support the sector’s structural evolution.