Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/280096
Industry Beat 12 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | March 2014 AED Joins New Coalition to Advance Mining Interests AED and 10 other industry associations came together last month to form the Minerals Science and Information Coalition (MSIC) to advocate for reinvigorated minerals science and information functions in the federal government. MSIC is composed of trade associations, professional societies, and groups representing the extrac- tive industries; geoscience, physical, chemical, and material science professionals; processors, manufacturers, and other mineral and material supply-chain users; state government; and other consumers of federal minerals science and infor- mation. The group seeks to increase funding and support for federal minerals research, information gathering, analysis, and forecasting to sustain economic prosperity and ensure national security. Over the past decade, funding for the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Resources Program has been slashed by nearly a third, slowing economic development and inno- vation in a number of industries. To ensure a continued supply of rare earth metals and other materials vital to our economy, leaders in Washington must make investing in the extractive minerals industry a priority. As a founding member of the coalition, AED looks forward to raising the profile of mining and related industries with key policy- makers to ensure sustained investment in our nation's mineral resources. Many firms plan to start hiring again and most contractors predict demand will either grow or remain stable in virtually every market segment this year, according to a recent Associated General Contractors survey. The survey, conducted for The 2014 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook, provides an upbeat outlook for the year even as firms worry about growing worker shortages, rising costs and the impact of new regulations and federal budget-cutting. Contractors have a relatively positive outlook for virtually all 11 market segments covered in the Outlook, in particular for private-sector segments. For five of those segments, at least 40 percent of respon- dents expect the market to expand and fewer than 20 percent expect the market to decline in 2014. The differ- ence between the optimists and pessimists – the net positive reading – is a strong 28 percent for private office, manufacturing and the combined retail/warehouse/lodging segments, and 25 percent for power and hospital/higher education construction. Among public sector segments, contractors are more optimistic about demand for new water and sewer construction, with a net positive of 17 percent. Contrac- tors are mildly optimistic about the market for highway construction, with a net positive of 10 percent. Respon- dents are almost equally divided regarding the outlook for the other four segments, ranging from net positives of 5 percent for public buildings, 4 percent for schools, 3 percent for transportation facilities other than highways, to a negative of 2 percent for marine construction. Many contractors also report they plan to add new construction equipment in 2014. Seventy-three percent of firms plan to purchase construction equipment and 86 percent report they plan to lease/rent it this year. The scope of those investments is likely to be somewhat limited, however. Forty-four percent of firms say they will invest $250,000 or less in equipment purchases and 53 percent say they will invest that amount or less for new equipment leases. The Outlook was based on survey results from more than 800 construction firms from every state and the District of Columbia. Varying numbers responded to each question. Contractors of every size answered more than 40 questions about their hiring, equipment purchasing and business plans. AGC Survey: Optimism Rises Among Contractors 73 percent plan to buy new equipment in 2014, but projected dollar investments are conservative ƐƚŝŵĂƚĞƚŚĞĚŽůůĂƌǀĂůƵĞŽĨĐŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƚŝŽŶĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚŝŶϮϬϭϰƚŚĂƚLJŽƵǁŝůůƉƵƌĐŚĂƐĞŽƌůĞĂƐĞͬƌĞŶƚ͘ 4% 8% 4% 5% 9% 14% 30% 27% 3% 6% 6% 8% 12% 19% 34% 14% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Over $5 million $1.1 million-$5 million $750,001-$1 million $500,001-$750,000 $250,001-$500,000 $100,001-$250,000 $100,000 or less Do not plan to purchase/lease/rent equipment in 2014 Lease/rent Purchase