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2013 Business Outlook (���Taxes, Uncertainty Are Heading Higher��� continued from page 33) Be the #1 Dealer with the World���s #1 Business Analytics #1 Mobility Solution #1 Business Management Software All on a Single, Fully-integrated Dealer Management System B4 Consulting helps you lay the foundation for success with SAP software. Integrating and optimizing all your business operations, SAP gives you access to real-time information ��� anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Be the #1 Dealer with B4 Consulting For a Free Consultation, Email: hem@b4-consulting.com B4 Consulting, Inc. +1 877 777 9480 www.b4-consulting.com construction projects that were put on hold during the course of 2012. However, the baseline forecast calls for only moderate [5.2 percent] expansion in nonresidential construction spending next year,��� Basu added. ���The 2013 U.S. Transportation Construction Market Forecast��� published by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) calls for overall modest growth of 3 percent in this sector, with growth predicted for highway and street pavements, private work for driveways and parking lots, airport terminal and runway work, railroads and port waterway construction. The ARTBA document says, ���the bridge market, which has shown substantial growth over the last 10 years, is expected to remain flat.��� Like other sources, ARTBA report writers point to the ���wild card��� fiscal cliff, too, underscoring the threat to state and local finances, which could cause governments ���to pull back or delay projects. Such action in turn would have negative consequences on the highway construction market.��� Dealer Inventory In 2011, many dealers were talking about painfully long product lead times from their manufacturers, and in CED���s recent end-of-the-year survey dealers were all over the map in their appraisal of product availability. For the year just ended, compared to 2011, 27 percent of respondents said availability was somewhat better, 26.7 percent said it was much better, 21 percent said it was the same as 2011, and 24 percent said availability was somewhat worse ��� not overwhelming consensus, but obviously most felt there was improvement. And it may have been that uncorked supply chain that caused dealers to give mixed assessments about their year-end inventories; it could also affect the amount they plan to invest for 2013. For Walt Berry, the sooner-than-expected pop on machine deliveries caught them a little off guard in the late second and third quarters. ���Bobcat got caught up on production a lot quicker than we thought,��� he said, ���and so���we went from famine to feast, as has happened in this industry before. This fall we really cut back our orders substantially; it���ll all work out in the long run.��� He said his company now utilizes an inventory system that accommodates specific request dates so they won���t get early surprises anymore. Fifty-two percent of the survey���s respondents said they were satisfied with current inventory levels, but a disconcerting 47 percent said they were not satisfied with the amount of their year-end inventories. Consider, too, that 83 percent had raised their 2012 inventory spending over 2011, and 53 percent had done so in the 34 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | January 2013 32_Biz_Outlook_Feature_KP.indd 34 12/21/12 1:35 PM