This year, our list of top metal builders shows a steady industry, with the largest contractors and erectors reporting just a slight drop in the average tonnage and square footage of the metal buildings they constructed between 2024 and 2025.
Again, this year, we separated the list of the top 20 erectors from the list of the top 100 contractors. We do this so we do not count work on the same building twice—once for the contractor furnishing the metal building system and again for the erector putting up the steel.
This does cause complications, however, because some companies furnish and erect but are contracted only to erect a building, making them both contractors and erectors. We identify those companies as contractors rather than separating those numbers into separate entities.
The two lists make it difficult to compare trends, such as changes in building size or market share over the years. However, to alleviate this, we identified the 100 largest companies regardless of whether they are contractors or erectors and showed how their averages compare to previous years.
Overview
The average tonnage reported by metal building contractors and erectors saw significant increases from 2023 to 2024, particularly for the former, with a 50 percent jump last year. Contractors experienced a 7.3 percent increase in square footage year-over-year, whereas erectors reported a similar jump of 24 percent. The tonnage for the 100 largest contractors also jumped by an impressive 38 percent.
Among the 100 most prominent builders, whether contractors or erectors, the average tonnage jumped by 42 percent in 2024, while square footage spiked by 37 percent.
One key insight from monitoring the largest metal building contractors and erectors is whether the industry is experiencing consolidation. We merged the lists to identify the 100 largest entities, regardless of business type. We then analyzed the market share of the top 10 contractors and erectors compared to the next 80.
This year, their combined market share fell to 49 percent from 56 percent last year. This marks the lowest share over the past 15 years, with the previous low being 53.7 percent in 2014.
Due to a change in our methodology four years ago, when we started producing separate lists for contractors and erectors, we isolated contractors from previous years.
After a significant increase last year to a market share of 10 percent for the top 10 contractors, likely influenced by the exclusion of erectors from the combined list, this year’s survey revealed a slight decrease to 53.2 percent, marking a 2.4 percent year-over-year drop. Since we began tracking in 2011, this represents the lowest market share held by the 10 largest contractors since 2021.
The data presented in the charts show that during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a notable decrease in tonnage purchased and the square footage installed by metal building contractors.
Following a significant high in 2018—the largest in over a decade—the industry saw a downturn, dropping to 1,742 in 2023, the lowest in almost a decade.
After hitting a high of 2,394 last year, the highest since 2018, before falling to 2,151 last year. The average square footage handled by contractors grew again to 506,838 in 2024 from 493,040 the previous year, representing the highest since 2020 but still below the peak years of 2015 to 2019.
The combined square footage data for the 100 largest contractors and erectors decreased from 2024 to 2025, falling by only 12,000 sf per company, and remained among the highest levels in the past 15 years.
RELATED TABLESTop Metal Building Contractors by Tonnage 2026Top Metal Building Contractors by Square Footage 2026Top Metal Building Erectors by Tonnage 2026Top Metal Building Erectors by Square Footage 2026
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