Tag Archive for 'transportation'

In Response to President Obama’s Infrastructure Bank

Published on September 7, 2010 in Daily Dirt. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Dennis Slater, AEM President

Statement from Dennis Slater, President of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

America’s equipment manufacturing industry applauds the President for recognizing the vital importance of infrastructure investment to the long-term strength and competitiveness of our country. What America needs – and what voters want – is the Administration and Congress to work in partnership right now to finally pass a transportation reauthorization bill that will address longstanding safety and quality issues, and put Americans back to work.

Investing in the rebuilding and modernization of our nation’s roads, railways, runways and transit systems is a strategy that Democrats and Republicans alike should be clamoring to support.  Instead, Congress has let a six-year bill expire while America falls behind other nations that are building infrastructure for future competition in the global marketplace. In the short term, this has and will continue to cost American jobs. In the long-term, it will cost us our competitive advantage – and even more jobs.

While the President’s plan for an Infrastructure Bank and increased capacity in our infrastructure system is an important step, Congress has the opportunity to act now on transportation reauthorization that will result in immediate job creation.  We need a strategic vision for modernizing our country’s infrastructure, and leaders with the courage to make it happen.  We need Congress to pass a transportation bill, and they need to come together on a robust, multi-faceted and sustainable way to pay for it, including consideration of a user fee increase.  Maybe this is not the most popular policy stance in an election year, but there is no such thing as a safe road built by American workers for free.

Editor’s Note:

Site-K Construction Zone has been posting information and comments about the country’s need for a new transportation bill. One, that had been based on a couple of years of intense research and addressed the immediate and long term transportation needs of the country by congressman James L. Oberstar and his committee, has been put on hold a couple times since the last bill,  SAFETEA-LU, expired on September 30, 2009. A year and billions of dollars have been wasted and more debt created while we as a nation sit and wait… A comprehensive transportation bill would be a step in the right direction. Congress doesn’t have to wait until December to pass one. Now would be a good time…

GS

Construction Spending Sinks To 10-Year Low In July As Investments In Projects Are Now 34 Percent Below February 2006 Peak


Published on September 1, 2010 in Daily Dirt. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Private Sector Caution, Plus Local and State Budget Cuts, Overwhelm Benefits of Stimulus, Construction Trade Association (AGC) Notes in New Analysis of Spending Data Released by Federal Officials Today

Total construction spending declined to a 10-year low of $805 billion in July, as investments in construction projects dropped 1.0 percent from a downwardly revised June total, the Associated General Contractors of America said today in an analysis of new Census Bureau data. Association officials noted that the new figures show depressed private sector activity, and local and state budget cuts are offsetting stimulus-funded construction spending.

“While the stimulus is funding some vital infrastructure projects, the private sector is too cautious and state and local governments are too cash-strapped, to help,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “As a result, overall construction spending is at its lowest level in a decade and hundreds of thousands of construction workers are unemployed.”

Simonson noted that the July total was one-third lower than the high-water mark set in February 2006 and was down by 11 percent in the past 12 months alone. He added that in the past year, all 12 private nonresidential construction categories and 10 of the 14 public categories declined. Private residential spending in July was 5.5 percent higher than a year before but has dropped for three straight months since the homebuyer tax credit expired in April, Simonson continued.

Stimulus funds appear to have buoyed public housing (up 18 percent from July 2009 to July 2010), sewage and waste disposal (up 11 percent), and water supply construction (up 0.7 percent), while reconstruction work around New Orleans helped conservation spending rise 12 percent, Simonson suggested. He added, however, that stimulus spending on highways and other transportation facilities was evidently not enough to offset the downturn in state and local budgets, leading these categories to contract by seven percent and one percent, respectively, from year-earlier levels.

Private nonresidential spending plunged 24 percent from July 2009 to July 2010 with double-digit declines in nearly all categories, Simonson remarked. The economist noted that private power construction reached the highest monthly level this year but manufacturing and developer-financed categories such as office, hotel and retail construction appear to be heading for still less activity.

Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the construction association, said the new spending data and metropolitan area construction employment figures showing construction employment declined in 276 out of 337 metro areas this past year, made it clear that the industry is hurting. He said long-delayed federal legislation to invest in aging public infrastructure would provide a needed boost to the construction industry while making the U.S. more economically competitive. “Letting our roads age, our bridges deteriorate and our ports decline is no way to boost our export capacity,” Sandherr said.

America’s Equipment Manufacturing Industry Responds to Sluggish Economic News

Published on August 30, 2010 in Daily Dirt. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Dennis Slater, AEM President

Statement from Dennis Slater, President of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

News that the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter of 2010 should sound an alarm to Congress. There is an urgent need for job creation in this country. While there are no easy political fixes to jolt unemployment numbers or the GDP, our leaders need to acknowledge the reality that national policies to keep manufacturing strong in this country are inadequate and have failed to create the certainty that manufacturers need to invest and hire.

Congress needs to immediately pass a new transportation bill that addresses urgently needed safety, rebuilding and modernization issues across the nation. Now is the time to build and repair America’s roads and bridges for the good of the country. Infrastructure investment is a proven economic engine with staying power – not only does it drive growth, it creates lasting benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 30,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on infrastructure. And a modernized infrastructure system will give America the competitive edge in the global economy while improving the lives of Americans for generations to come.

Stimulus money is nearing an end, state and local budgets continue to shrink, and with a slowing recovery, the prospects for a sustained rebound in sales and employment are weakening.

Over the past 10 years, manufacturing in the U.S. has shed 5.5 million jobs. Unemployment in the manufacturing sector remains higher than the national average. There has been some recovery of lost jobs, but the rebound is much slower than it should be.

Infrastructure investment is the most effective action we can take to change this picture. We need a new national manufacturing policy that creates American jobs and rebuilds America’s infrastructure.

Motor Power Equipment, Billings MT Completes Major Expansion, Enhances Customer Support

Published on August 26, 2010 in Daily Dirt and Pacific Builder & Engineer. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Motor Power Equipment recently completed a major $4 million expansion of its full-service dealership in Billings, MT.

Motor Power Equipment – Billings, a Kenworth dealer, more than doubled its facility size to 60,000 square feet on 10 acres.

The service department area is more than 36,000 square feet in size and has 34 bays, including Kenworth PremierCare ExpressLube, quick repair and trailer bays. The dealership also has a 5-ton overhead crane, mobile truck lifts, special OEM tooling to diagnose and repair critical components such as engines and transmissions, wireless fluid tracking system, and a dedicated body shop. The parts operation features a larger parts display area, nearly 5,000 square feet of additional parts warehouse space for excellent availability, and knowledgeable staff. Amenities include a large driver’s lounge with a 55-inch LED flat screen television and data ports for notebook PCs, and a large training room for customer and employee use.

“We made a very significant investment to create a modern, state-of-the-art truck dealership, which will provide expanded customer support in new and used trucks, parts and service, and the body shop,” said Brian Sunwall, vice president of Motor Power Equipment, which also operates Motor Power Kenworth – Great Falls.

“We also thought it was important – from both a business and good citizen perspective – to utilize energy-efficient technologies and construction methods,” said Sunwall, who noted that the facility was constructed with tilt-up concrete to reduce heating and cooling costs and polycarbonate clear overhead doors and skylights to add natural light and solar heat.  Motor Power Equipment – Billings also uses timers on radiant heaters in each service bay; high-output, energy-efficient light fixtures; motion-controlled light and plumbing fixtures; time clocks for light and heating and air conditioning systems; and an electrical outlet shut-off system.

“Customer response to our new facility has been very positive so far, and we had more than 650 customers attend our grand opening in June,” said Marilyn Sunwall, vice president of Motor Power Equipment, who coordinated the major construction project in conjunction with her son, Brian Sunwall. “Motor Power Equipment – Billings serves a wide variety of market segments, including food distribution, agricultural commodities, heavy equipment transportation, vocational and energy-related activities from Montana east of the continental divide and most of Wyoming.”

The dealership offers Kenworth PremierCare parts and service programs, and PACCAR Financial support through flexible retail loans, leases and insurance products for the transportation industry.

Motor Power Equipment – Billings is conveniently located at 4941 Midland Road near Exit 447 from Interstate 90.

Oklahoma Commission Adopts $4.3Billion Road, Bridge Plan

Published on August 26, 2010 in Construction News and Daily Dirt. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

By TIM TALLEY (AP) Source Google News

A $4.3 billion plan to improve or replace hundreds of bridges and highways across the state over the next eight years was adopted Tuesday by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission.

The ambitious plan, which includes more than 1,750 transportation projects statewide, will mean Oklahoma will no longer be the state with the highest percentage of deficient bridges in the nation, said Gary Ridley, transportation secretary and director of the state Department of Transportation.

“This is a really good day for the agency; not just for the agency but the people of Oklahoma,” Ridley said.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re moving up the list.”

The plan, which outlines proposed spending on road and bridge projects through 2018, includes more than 650 bridge replacements or major rehabilitations as well as improvements to segments of Interstates 35, 40 and 44 and other major roads.

“The overall condition of our roadways will vastly improve,” Ridley said.

In 2002, The Road Information Program, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group that promotes policies that improve roads and bridges, reported that Oklahoma had the highest percentage of deficient bridges in the nation, with one-third of bridges 20 feet or longer in need of repair or replacement.

The Transportation Department estimated more than 3,000 miles of Oklahoma’s 12,266 miles of highways — about 25 percent — were inadequate and in need of improvement or replacement and about one-third of Oklahoma’s driving surfaces, about 4,300 miles, were in poor condition.

State lawmakers began putting more emphasis on transportation in 2005 and dedicated more state tax dollars to road and bridge maintenance, resulting in a steady increase in spending on transportation needs.

In 2003, the state’s first eight-year road and bridge plan totaled $1.8 billion — less than half the current plan. About 530 bridges have been replaced or rebuilt since 2005 and other improvement projects have been authorized on major roads and highways across the state, Ridley said.

“We can see the fruits of our labor over the last five years,” Ridley said. “We’ve seen major improvements in our investment in the system. That has to continue.”

The department’s goal is to replace or rehabilitate 100 bridges a year, he said.

Ridley said transportation officials were able to accelerate the pace of many projects in the eight-year plan after the state received $465 million in federal economic stimulus money for transportation.

About 80 percent of projects listed in the plan, which relies on state and federal dollars, are actually performed, he said.

The commission authorized Ridley to execute agreements with the Oklahoma Capital Improvement Authority to repay debt from a $215 million transportation bond issue authorized by the Legislature in 2008. Officials have said the bond issue is needed to keep the eight-year highway plan on track.

Transportation commissioners also approved a $28 million contract to pave part of a new 4.5-mile long section of the Interstate 40 Crosstown Expressway in Oklahoma City, the first of four paving contracts that will complete the project.

“What this is is the start of the finish,” Ridley said. Bids for two other paving contracts will be received this month and bids for the final contract will come in next spring.

The new highway is scheduled to open in 2012. The project will cost about $650 million.