Of URS Corp.?s (URS) current $17.9 billion backlog, 7.8% is Power, 14% is Infrastructure, 58.1% is Federal and 20.1% is Industrial/Commercial. At this point, the Power sector probably has the best outlook, as the switch appears to be on from coal-fired and oil-fired plants to gas-fired and nuclear-powered plants.

Infrastructure is increasingly being financed through bond issues, which should be a positive. While Federal will remain an unknown until after the election, Industrial/Commercial could be problematic, given the current economic environment. URS continues to make bolt-on acquisitions, and Zacks has upgraded URS from a Hold to a Buy.

URS continues to see favorable trends in the Federal Government sector. There is strong funding for O&M programs -- which is expected to reach $300 billion in fiscal 2009, a 7% increase over fiscal 2008 levels -- increased opportunities to support long-term Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives and stable funding for the Department of Environment?s (DoE)? environmental and nuclear programs. Consequently, URS continues to expect that revenues in its federal sector will be between $3.3 billion and $3.5 billion in 2008.

On August 25, URS announced that it has acquired most of the assets of Tryck Nyman Hayes, Inc., an engineering firm headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. The company has a staff of approximately 60 engineers, landscape architects and surveyors and serves federal, state and local government agencies as well as private sector clients. This acquisition provides URS with the in-state engineering expertise necessary to participate in the growth of Alaska's infrastructure, oil and gas and federal facilities markets.