Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/757428
December 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 12 I n addition to the impact of lower oil prices and sagging global demand for mining equipment, sales of Caterpillar heavy equipment have also been negatively impacted by lower dealer inventories. In a statement on dealer inventories ac- companying its third quarter earn- ings report – which included further reduced expectations for fiscal year 2016 sales – the company says deal- er inventories in the third quarter of 2016 fell even further than they did in the same quarter of 2015, with more inventory reductions planned for the fourth quarter. Cat reports that dealer machine and engine inventories fell about reporter | continued Caterpillar dealer inventories lower than last year, expected to get worse Briefs Caterpillar has announced that along with entering the portable gen set market, the company is going be- yond its dealer network to distribute these products. Cat's new Home & Outdoor Power division will use an omni channel approach that includes Cat dealers, but also distributes these products through e-retailers, big box stores, specialty retailers and autho- rized sales and service agents. Sitech Northland has joined Trimble's Sitech dealer network, covering parts of Minnesota and Iowa and Nebraska. Sitech dealer- ships carry Trimble and Caterpil- lar machine control systems for most brands of heavy equipment, in addition to Trimble's Connected Site solutions. Terramac has added Louisville, Ken- tucky-based Power Equipment to its dealer network, representing the company in portions of Arkansas and Tennessee. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, U.S. construction spending fell 0.4 percent in Sep- tember as nonresidential spending declines wiped out homebuilding gains during the month. Construc- tion spending is at a seasonally-ad- justed annual rate of $1.150 trillion, Neglected city roadways costing motorists up to $1,025 annually I n its latest road condition report, The Road Improvement Program (TRIP) says deteriorating roadways in large and mid-sized urban areas in the United States are costing motor- ists up to $1,025 per year in vehicle operating costs (VOC). "With state and local governments struggling to fund needed road repairs and with federal surface transportation funding falling short of the amount needed to make needed improvements, road conditions are projected to get even worse," says Will Wilkins, TRIP's executive director. "Without adequate investment at the local, state and federal levels, our nation's crumbling pavements will be more than just a nuisance for drivers – they'll be a roadblock to economic growth and quality of life." The report notes that 32 percent of the major urban roads, including in- terstates, freeways and "other arterial routes," have pavements in "substan- dard condition" with "unacceptably" rough rides. Thirty-nine percent of the roads are in mediocre or fair condition, and only 28 percent are in good condition. The organization says that, accounting for major rural roads, 20 percent of all the major roads in the U.S. are in poor condi- tion, with 39 percent in mediocre or fair condition and 40 percent in good condition. TRIP segmented the findings into large urban areas, defined as having a population of 500,000 or more, and mid-sized urban areas, categorized as having between 200,000 and 500,000 people. Topping the list of large urban areas with poor roadways is San Francisco-Oakland, California, with 71 percent of the roads in poor condition; followed by Los Angeles- Long Beach-Santa Ana, California (60 percent); San Jose, California (59 Percent); Detroit, Michigan (56 percent); and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (56 percent). The areas with the highest VOCs in this category include Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ($1,025); Tulsa, Okla- homa ($998); San Francisco-Oakland, California ($978); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California ($892); and Detroit, Michigan ($865). Mid- sized areas are led by Concord, Cali- fornia, with 75 percent of the roads in poor condition; Madison, Wiscon- sin (66 percent); Victorville-Hesperia- Apple Valley, California (61 percent); Antioch, California (60 percent); and Flint, Michigan (56 percent). Highest VOC areas in this category include Concord, California ($1,014); Madison, Wisconsin ($974); Antioch, California ($883); Jackson, Mississippi ($862); and Victorville-Hesperia-Ap- ple Valley, California ($854). – Chris Hill (continued from page 11) (continued on page 14) (continued on page 14)