Pit & Quarry, February 2010

Were not asking for a handout like the ones Congress gave the auto industry or the financial services sector Were just asking Congress to do its job and make highway reauthorization a priority AEM PRESIDENT DENNIS SLATER Texas rally highlights need for new highway program C ongress failure to renew the federal highway program has real economic consequences for Texas and the rest of the country construction equipment industry leaders said during a rally Jan 20 at the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio The event was part of a national grassroots campaign called Start Us Up USA organized by the Associated Equipment Distributors AED and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AEM Following the rally a caravan of trucks carrying large pieces of construction equipment idled by the industry depression and draped with banners made its way through the streets of San Antonio AED and AEM are seeking to draw attention to the economic crisis facing construction equipment distributors and manufacturers as well as the consequences of Congress failure to reauthorize federal highway and transit programs According to a recent study by IHS Global Insight since 2006 the U S equipment industry has lost 37 percent of its workforce and 40 percent of its economic output All indications are that construction industry business conditions are worsening and the delay in Washington is adding to the misery SAFETEA LU the most recent federal surface transportation law expired at the end of September Consumed by health care reform and climate change legislation neither the U S House of Representatives nor the Senate has made headway on a reauthorization bill As a consequence the highway program is operating under a series of short term extensions adding to the volatility in the construction markets States cant plan and contractors dont know how much work will be coming down the pike AED President and CEO Toby Mack said As a result theyre sitting on their hands and not investing in new equipment Thats killing our industry Bennett Closner president and CEO of Closner Equipment Co Inc a San Antonio dealer provided a local perspective on the national crisis Closner who is the 2009 national chairman of AED said that since 2006 Texas has lost more than 11 billion in economic activity because of the equipment industry downturn the biggest loss of any state And Texas is second only to California in equipment industryrelated job losses with more than 53000 layoffs in three years Ive listened to friends and colleagues agonize over the difficult decisions theyve had to make about their businesses Almost all have had to lay off valued workers many have closed one or more of their facilities and some companies have shut their doors altogether after several generations in business Closner said Allyn Archer president and COO of San Antonio based Holt CAT told attendees that local equipment dealers have experienced a 70 percent drop in new machine sales from 2008 levels He said the most debilitating impact of the downturn for his company has been a 25 percent reduction in employment Other speakers at the rally included Texas Sen Jeff Wentworth R District 25 Dean Word III of Dean Word Co New Braunfels Texas and Craig Paylor president of JLG Industries a manufacturer of mobile aerial work platforms based in Maryland RAMPING UP TO REBUILD AMERICA AED and AEM organized a rally in San Antonio to urge Congress to reauthorize federal highway and transit programs www pitandquarry com February 2010 PIT QUARRY 9