Industry research
Subcontractor fragmentation in US construction
Bookings analysed across 14 New York sites
New York subcontractors working more than one site
Florida subcontractors working more than one site
Of 2023 booking data analysed
The challenge
US construction suffers from severe subcontractor fragmentation — large numbers of small independent businesses operating in silos. That fragmentation drives communication breakdowns, poor resource allocation and failed delivery management.
The solution
Voyage Control analysed real booking data across selected projects in six US states over the first six months of 2023, measuring how often subcontractors work across multiple sites.
Implementation
Bookings, site counts and subcontractor counts were compared by state to quantify cross-site utilisation — the degree to which the same firms appear on more than one project.
The results
Cross-site utilisation ranged from 8.5% in Florida to 20.1% in New York. Boston recorded 4,685 bookings across 16 sites with 213 subcontractors, and New York 5,741 bookings across 14 sites with 174 subcontractors — evidence that the supply chain is far more fragmented than most contractors assume.
“We would send an email to the general contractor and hope for the best… No — it was terrible.”
Last updated: 17 October 2026