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Source: Autodesk, 2026 Spotlight on Transportation survey *Source: Autodesk, 2025 State of Design & Make report and study data

The data for the State of Design & Make: Spotlight on Transportation report is derived from our Spotlight on Transportation survey which includes responses from 900 transportation leaders across 14 countries.

46% Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

31% Asia-Pacific

23% Americas

45% civil infrastructure owners

26% construction services

23% engineering service providers

6% architecture services

2025 2026 2027

Spotlight on Transportation How digital transformation, AI, talent, and sustainability are shaping an industry

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION in transportation

AI in transportation

SUSTAINABILITY & INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE in transportation

BIM & GIS convergence is essential; Infrastructure owners lead adoption

Organizations are seeing AI's impact across critical areas

AI leaders realize outsized benefits

60% of transportation leaders say their organizations have made substantial digital transformation progress

16% are aggressively accelerating digital transformation efforts

85% of transportation leaders say BIM & GIS convergence is essential for project management

84% of transportation leaders say AI gives back time to focus on other tasks

61% of civil engineering leaders say lack of skilled talent is a barrier to growth (up from 38% in 2024)*

78% of civil engineering leaders believe sustainability measures can generate more than 5% of annual revenue*

99% say water management is important

Water management is critical:

69% say water-related risks are more prominent in design decisions

38% say the decline in civil engineering graduates has already affected their business

44% of civil engineering leaders say the ability to work with AI ranks highest for hiring priorities*

99% of transportation leaders say adoption is necessary to compete

75% of infrastructure owners have fully implemented GIS (vs. 56% industry average)

65% of infrastructure owners have fully implemented BIM (vs. 53% industry average)

86% of AI leaders find more creative solutions with AI 76% of non-AI leaders

90% of AI leaders say AI enhances infrastructure resilience 74% of non-AI leaders

58% Construction services

43% Civil infrastructure

owners

58% Improve project quality

50% Focus on complex tasks

49% Reduce workload and/or stress

89% of AI leaders say AI can bridge talent shortages 67% of non-AI leaders

The talent gap is real — and growing

Fewer graduates is compounding the problem

Better data access contributes to more resilient infrastructure

Better data access contributes to more resilient infrastructure

Better data access contributes to more resilient infrastructure

Better data access contributes to more resilient infrastructure

81% have a dedicated role or team for collaboration

79% feel collaboration is adequate for project success

52% have had projects fail or underperform due to lack of collaboration

Digital tools are widely adopted and AI is rapidly catching up

GIS

BIM

Cloud Based Workflows

IoT

Artificial Intelligence

82%

79%

71%

64%

67%

Security is the top data interoperability challenge Cost and compliance are also top of mind

AI is essential for competitive advantage

AI has benefits beyond productivity

Challenges in data management impact projects across transportation

Civil infrastructure owners Construction services Engineering service providers

50%

30%

10%

0%

60%

40%

Security and privacy concerns

High costs of integration

Regulatory compliance issues

Digitally lagging organizations nearly 3x as likely to need rework due to interoperability issues

3x

43% very necessary

43% moderately necessary

43% somewhat necessary

1% not at all necessary

12% critical

AI accelerates solving tough engineering problems

AI contributes to infrastructure resiliency

AI helps solve problems through better decision-making

AI can help bridge the talent gap

79%

77%

76%

72%

TALENT in transportation

COLLABORATION in transportation

DEMOGRAPHICS

61% Time saving

59% Improved project quality

49% Reduced costs

Collaboration delivers better outcomes

The collaboration perception gap

AI leaders see bigger benefits from collaboration

AI as the talent bridge:

89% of AI leaders agree AI can bridge talent shortages

67% of Non-AI leaders agree AI can bridge talent shortages

56% Engineering service

providers

1

28% Shortage of qualified candidates

13% Project delays/ increased costs

13% Loss of innovation/ expertise 2 3

Adequate collaboration across teams

90%

77%

Collaboration leads to innovation

52%

42%

More creative solutions

86%

76%

45%

Greater asset longevity

32%

AI leader Non-AI leader

Most organizations have implemented water management systems

Data is a major factor for more resilient infrastructure

AI leaders prioritize environmental and community impact

82%

82%

81%

78%

Incorporate water-related risks in design

78%

67%

AI enhances infrastructure resilience

90%

74%

Consider long-term community well-being

91%

79%

AI leader Non-AI leader

57% have implemented stormwater drainage

56% have implemented wastewater sewer systems

51% have implemented water recycling or reuse

83% of transportation leaders say interoperability improves collaboration

90% of transportation leaders are concerned about future talent availability

40% of business leaders believe their organization struggles with siloed data 84% of business leaders feel poor data

management impacts project efficiency

72% say AI has potential to bridge the talent gap

https://www.autodesk.com/design-make/articles/2026-transportation-spotlight