Pessimism Prevails

摘要

The story is the same, and it does not have a happy ending. For the third straight year, optimism slowly seeped out as the long-hoped-for recovery failed to materialize. Construction equipment fleets, except those used in mining and utility work, continue to lie mostly dormant. Asset managers, in fact, have been openly discussing a change in management tactic, pushing out machine life in an effort to stretch fleet dollars further. Condition-based maintenance and consistent residual-value calculations are reaching mainstream among managers. The same issues continue to dampen construction recovery: lack of infrastructure funding, a weak residential housing sector, tight credit, and state and municipal budget shortfalls. Backlogs are depleted, and the pipeline doesn't look promising.