Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/236097
2014 Business Outlook Report ("A Prevailing View" continued from page 38) HCT Has the Right Connections OEM style ORFS or CD62 4 bolt flange connections Higher safety standards Efficient designs with fewer connections, reduce the number of potential leak points Welded tube ends for maximum strength and durability. Almost tied at 3rd Place for biggest 2014 threats were (1) Obamacare and (2) the potential "Year Zero" scenario in which the Highway Trust Fund is depleted and Congress fails to authorize and adequately fund surface transportation in the U.S. Labor and HR-related issues placed last among the most worrisome challenges we could think of, but almost everything that keeps a dealer up at night has its origins in Washington, D.C. – what a surprise. Every Story's Different – 5 Snapshots CED interviewed five equipment dealer executives to get a sense of what is happening regionally around the U.S. (please see our feature on page 46 for Canadian projections) – but speaking to one dealer in a geographic market does not a market summary make. Far from it. Like a flight of wine, we sampled very individual experiences and perspectives, and none are necessarily representative of what's going on at a macro level in their territories; they speak only for themselves, except perhaps in the case of our Oklahoma conversation. Northwest Volvo Dealer. Patrick McConnell at Clyde-West based in Portland, Ore., had a fantastic year, but is it because employees worked harder than the year before? No, it's more like "sheer blind dumb luck," he jokes. Comparing the business to a baseball game, he says they hit a few grand slams in 2013, but those are the kind of deals you can't really predict, and he isn't planning for them in his 2014 outlook. McConnell also attributes some of '13's results to the ongoing replacement cycle – customers who have decided they're going to stick it out come to the realization that if they're going to stay in the business they've got to buy some new equipment. He says credit in the Northwest is back to normal, and by that he means you have to have a 10-20 percent down payment for a house not a negative 3 percent down payment! "That kind of stupidity is thankfully gone," he said. The new tax reform proposal out of the Senate Finance The Biggest Please visit us in CONDEX Booth 533. 40 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | January 2014