The facility management industry is preparing for higher workloads, modest budget growth and a more deliberate approach to staffing and project risk over the next year. An inaugural report from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the Simplar Foundation presents a new global market outlook to help FMs navigate evolving risks and demands in 2026.
The findings in the Facility Management Pulse Report are based on 1,400 responses to IFMA’s Q3 2025 Facility Management Index and Economic Pulse Survey, which include nearly 1,200 facility professionals and 200 vendors or service providers across 80 countries. The analysis is also based on a new metric called the Facility Management Workload Index (FMWI), which captures how facility professionals expect their overall workload to change over the next six months.
“This is of immense value in understanding current drivers, challenges and expectations across regions and sectors,’ said Michael V. Geary, IFMA’s president and CEO. “It helps ensure that FMs and their organizations are not caught off guard by factors influencing market dynamics, but are better prepared to respond to supply and staffing issues, scope changes, economic conditions, regulatory impacts, and other risks and opportunities.”
Tariff and trade shifts affect most facility operations
Facility teams are grappling with rising expectations and tight resources, exacerbated by tariffs and trade pressures that have disrupted operations for nearly two-thirds of respondents over the past six months.
Across most sectors, roughly one in five organizations have added contingencies or increased budgets (33%), changed vendors (21%), or shifted to domestic and regional suppliers (19%). Others have rescoped projects (30%) or deferred projects (26%), suggesting that facility leaders are moderating demand rather than canceling projects.
The impacts are more pronounced in asset-heavy sectors such as manufacturing, utilities, and transportation and warehousing, which all rely on imported materials, specialized equipment, and cross-border logistics.
While tariff and trade disruptions affect facility portfolios worldwide, regions differ in how they respond. North America shows the highest share of increased project budgets and added contingencies (18 per cent), moderate levels of deferred and rescoped projects, and low cancellations (7 per cent). In contrast, organizations in Latin America are more likely to defer projects due to tighter budgets and higher cost pressures. Europe leads project rescoping, while Asia-Pacific and Latin America experience the highest volume of vendor and sourcing shifts.
Overall, organizations are making slight moves toward regional or domestic suppliers, reflecting targeted adjustments instead of major supply chain redesigns. Portfolios exceeding 3 million square feet absorb cost swings more easily and display higher sourcing resilience. Mid-size portfolios of 2 to 3 million square feet account for the highest share of budget increases and accelerate purchasing ahead of tariff changes. Sites under 250,000 square feet rely more heavily on switching vendors or suppliers.
Workload growth hits key sectors and leadership roles
The majority of facility management professionals expect workloads—from daily operations and maintenance to renovations and projects—to increase over the next six months, particularly within large portfolios.
The inaugural FMWI registers a +43 reading on a −100 to +100 scale, which means more facility professionals expect their overall workload to rise. This is primarily the case within the transportation and warehousing, utilities, public administration and manufacturing sectors.
By region, the expected workload varies. In North America, the industry projects the strongest growth within the South Central and Southeast United States. In Canada, Ontario is moderate at +41.1, while the scores in British Columbia (+36.4) and the Prairie Region (+40.5) should be considered with caution due to smaller sample sizes.
The analysis also found that facility managers with greater responsibility anticipate the heaviest workloads, particularly those overseeing two or more levels of supervisors (+50.8), compared with senior executives (+47) and managers with no employees (+30.3).
Organizations focus on backfills and targeted hiring
The average time to fill a facility position is nearly four months, while technician vacancies are elevated in several sectors and regions. Facility managers are intent on maintaining their staff. To do so, they will continue to backfill roles left vacant by turnover or retirement, add headcount where needed, or freeze hiring to meet evolving organizational demands.
Across sectors, most teams will focus on filling empty positions and targeted net hiring. The utilities and healthcare sectors lead the charge with plans to increase staff. Finance, insurance, and manufacturing target modest growth, while public administration focuses on backfills with few reductions. Other sectors tread more cautiously: manufacturing expects the most cuts, and transportation, retail, and education anticipate more hiring freezes.
The size of a portfolio also determines staffing plans. Small sites up to 100,000 square feet are taking little action. Mid-sized portfolios between 100,000 and 500,000 square feet show the strongest growth, combining net hiring with backfills. Larger sites up to 1 million square feet rely heavily on backfills while maintaining moderate net increases. Teams managing portfolios above 1 million square feet plan for both backfills and selective hiring, with occasional freezes or reductions. The fewest reductions appear in mid-range portfolios.
In Canada, Ontario reflects a balanced picture (20% increase, 29% backfill, 17% freeze). Respondents in British Columbia are focused on backfills at 44%, and Quebec splits evenly between freezes (50%) and taking no action (50%). In the United States, respondents in the Southeast and South Central regions report the highest levels of anticipated hiring.
As facility teams brace for another busy year, vacancy levels in North America remain relatively low, with an average fill time of 3.6 months. Housekeeping shows some gaps, while technician roles remain mostly staffed. Maintenance management and FM administration have the lowest vacancies. Overall, North American facilities remain better staffed than those in Africa, Europe, or other regions.
Targeted outsourcing, which can help bridge gaps in skills and capacities, remains a core strategy, particularly in sectors with complex systems and broad geographic reach. Facility leaders in both North America and Asia-Pacific have slightly increased outsourcing, but not nearly as much as those in Africa (69%) and Latin America (50%).
Facility leaders prioritize budget essentials
Facility professionals feel pressure to justify every investment dollar. More than half report that budget approval times remain unchanged, while one-third say approvals take longer. Capital-project pipelines remain stable, and vendors expect slightly more client demand throughout 2026.
As budget scrutiny intensifies, organizations plan to boost day-to-day (O&M) spending and remain selective about capital investments. Most will direct funds toward essential renewals and deferred projects, rather than pursue new large-scale initiatives.
“Overall, the data point to a period of tight but manageable budgets—enough room for incremental improvements and necessary maintenance but not for broad expansion,” the report highlights. “Facility leaders should plan to prioritize and sequence work to make the most of limited new funding.”
As organizations focus on essential projects, industries diverge. Utilities, transportation, and manufacturing expect stable O&M spending, while finance, information, and accommodation and food services plan for modest increases. Public administration, professional services, and finance anticipate growth among capital investments, while education, information, and arts and entertainment will limit spending to targeted projects.
Across regions, teams in Africa will plan the largest jumps in O&M spending. North American and European organizations will keep budgets largely steady, balancing small rises and cuts. In Asia-Pacific, O&M spending will tilt toward growth, while Latin America faces the tightest pressure, with most organizations reducing budgets. Capital spending follows a similar trajectory. Europe and North America will maintain steady allocations, Asia-Pacific will nudge spending upward, and Latin America will remain constrained, with reductions outweighing increases.
Projects move forward as delays increase
Across sectors, project delays are now the norm rather than the exception. Only 10% of organizations report no delays; however, the majority experience partial disruption, with delays affecting a portion of active work. A smaller group reports widespread or near-total delays across their portfolios.
The top causes are scope changes (51%) and supply chain issues (49%), which reflect the ongoing impact of material availability and shifting project priorities. Permitting and regulatory approvals and funding delays are other primary drivers, while quality and safety problems are rarely cited. Delays seem to stem mainly from planning, approvals, and market conditions rather than day-to-day execution.
By sector and region, information and utilities respondents report fewer and less severe delays, whereas some sectors (e.g., professional and scientific, public administration, and transportation and warehousing) and several regions (e.g., parts of Europe; Latin America; and the U.S. Pacific, South Central, and Southeast regions) experience higher concentrations of heavy delays.
Many organizations are also revising how they manage risk in project contracts. They are adding data and cybersecurity requirements (55%), price-escalation clauses (47%) and ESG provisions (45%), along with shorter price-hold periods and stronger guarantees. These findings indicate projects are moving forward but with tighter controls regarding pricing, compliance and information.
Strategic guidance for an increasingly complex industry
The general response from the facility industry underscores a wide range of issues that teams must navigate to oversee efficient facilities. Professionals identify budget and cost pressures as significant challenges, followed by staffing needs and project delivery. They also flag technology and data systems, vendor and contractor management, and return-to-office considerations.
As facility managers contend with higher workloads, tight budgets, and complex supply-chain pressures, success will hinge on careful planning, strategic hiring, and flexible sourcing, particularly in regions or sectors with strong activity. As the report suggests, knowing where to focus resources and when to deploy contingency plans will be key to keeping projects on track.
“Organizations that align planning, sourcing and risk management early will be best positioned to sustain momentum, meet demand and deliver consistent results,” said Nickalos Rocha, IFMA’s director of benchmarking.
More guidance can be found in the Facility Management Pulse Report.
