FMI Corporation, the leading provider of management consulting and investment banking services to engineering and construction, infrastructure and the built environment, is pleased to announce the release of its third quarter 2018 construction outlook. The publication offers comprehensive construction forecasts for a broad range of market segments and geographies across North America as well as information on key market drivers.

Key highlights of the report include:

• Total engineering and construction spending for the U.S. is forecast to end up 6 percent in 2018, compared to up 5 percent in 2017.

• Spending growth in 2018 is forecast to be led by select nonresidential and residential segments. Current top-three-performing segments forecast through year-end 2018 include transportation (+13 percent), public safety (+10 percent) and conservation and development (+10 percent). The bottom-three-performing segments include religious (-4 percent), power (+2 percent) and manufacturing (+2 percent).

• Several segments appear to be strengthening into the third quarter of 2018. These include lodging and water supply, both of which have outperformed expectations and are now considered growth segments through 2018. Additionally, power spending has increased in recent months, and the segment has been promoted from a down segment into our stable territory at 2 percent growth through 2018.

• Two segments that were downgraded this quarter are educational and religious. Educational spending has been shifted downward to stable at only 3 percent growth. Religious spending has been downgraded from a stable segment to down, with an expected 4 percent decline through the year-end.