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Commercial & industrial contractors: ranked by 2004 billings for work performed in L.A. county.

Article Excerpt
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

NEW construction projects and rising costs led to a significant increase in billings for Los Angeles County's largest general contractors.

The 25 largest firms billed $3.4 billion countywide in 2004, a 24.8 percent increase over the previous year.

Seven companies reported local billings greater than $200 million, compared with just two last year.

Tutor-Saliba Corp. returned to No. 1 with $259.2 million billed in the county. It was followed by McCarthy Building Cos., which reported $252.8 million in 2004 billings, up 67.5 percent from 2003. McCarthy's projects include L.A. County-USC Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Panorama City.

Two companies moved into the Top 10. Local billings at San Fernando-based Bernards, No. 4 on the list, nearly tripled in 2004 to $236.5 million.

Webcor Builders moved up 12 spots to No. 9. The San Mateo-based company saw billings increase locally to $170.5 million, up 225 percent.

--David Nusbaum

THE PACESETTER

TUTOR-SALIBA CORP.

THE Sylmar-based firm returned to the top of the list of commercial and industrial contractors in L.A. County, reporting a 20.7 percent increase in L.A. County billings, to $259.2 million.

Local projects account for $970.7 million of current contracts, 44.4 percent of Tutor Saliba's overall pipeline of $2.2 billion.

Ongoing projects include two hospitals for UCLA: The Westwood Hospital project, valued at $450 million, is expected to be completed next April, while the Santa Monica Hospital addition is valued at $150 million, with summer 2008 targeted as the completion date.

Rising commodity prices have been a challenge for Tutor-Saliba, as they have been for other contractors over the past year.

"The cost of ready-mix concrete has doubled," said Ronald N. Tutor, the company's president. He noted that commodities such as wood and steel have seen sharp price increases, although he expects costs to stabilize this year. Labor costs have remained constant.

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