Blog | 3 Key Trends from 2025’s IIBT

What if you could tell, with real numbers, whether your shop is gaining ground or slowly falling behind before the market shifts? You can with the IIBT!

 

The IIBT (INNERGY Industry Benchmarking Tool) is free, anonymous, and built specifically for millwork and woodworking businesses. Last year, 132 firms across the U.S. and Canada submitted their data in 2025. Here is what stood out.

 

Trend 1: Installation is improving, and high-profit shops are proving it can be a margin builder

 

For years, installation margins hovered near zero. Plenty of shops ran it at a loss just to close the job, accepted that as the cost of doing business, and moved on.

 

The 2025 IIBT says something different is happening.

 

Installation margins improved year over year in both the U.S. and Canada. High-profit firms show strong installation performance.
 

They treat installation like any other department, with defined scope, cost tracking, and someone accountable for the outcome. If install still feels like chaos at the end of every job, that is worth examining.

 

Trend 2: Median headcount is down

 

More smaller shops participated last year, which pulled median firm size down and made the data more representative of what most shops actually look like day to day. U.S. median headcount came in at 32 employees, Canada came in at 29.

 

At this scale, the owner knows everyone by name. The same people wear multiple hats, margin for error is thin, and one bad hire or one slow quarter hits harder than it would at a larger operation. Headcount is one of the most direct levers on profitability which leads into our next and final trend.

 

Trend 3: Revenue per employee is one of the clearest signals of whether your operation is keeping up

 

This one only takes 30 seconds. Take your total headcount, multiply by $210,000, and compare that number to your actual revenue.

 

U.S. revenue per employee benchmark: $210,000

 

Below that figure usually means something is working against you. Above it means your pricing, your workflow, or both are in reasonable shape. Either way, the gap is worth understanding.

 

Want to gain insights like these for 2026? Participate in the 2026 IIBT report!

 

The survey is completely anonymous, conducted and analyzed by third-party firm Inverra, and only participants receive the full report. It takes about 45 minutes. What you get back is real data from shops your size, doing the same kind of work you do, with enough detail to know where you stand and where to focus. Click here to take the survey today.