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In good and bad times, there is an economic barometer in an auctioneer’s chant. When construction equipment is offered at auction to the highest bidder regardless of price, the market’s wants, needs and dislikes are starkly revealed, as well as hints of what the future holds. Recent major auctions show there are signs of life in the U.S. economy, and many of these pulses are being felt in the heart of America. From local road repairs to hospital upgrades, some industry demand is still pumping for the workers, equipment and tools necessary to improve the lives of everyday people. Though

The current global economic recession is not being caused or perpetuated by mere talk about it, but rather certain underlying financial conditions and practices that have erased trillions of dollars of wealth, many businesses and millions of jobs. In the last few weeks, the Obama administration seems to have gone from proclaiming that America “is in the midst of a crisis” to promoting a message supporting “the soundness of investments in the U.S.,” indicating that the worst of the recession may be over by the end of 2009. The spin doctors clearly are at work, and others have adopted the

Lately, there has been a smell of discrimination rising in the air above California, where some regulators would love to completely ban some internal-combustion engines in favor of cheerful electric motors. But for most heavy-duty applications, there still is no viable alternative to the diesel engine. It is the most efficient way to move earth, build bridges and pave roads after more than 100 years of improvement including turbochargers, electronic boards, exhaust-gas recirculation coolers, high-pressure fuel injectors, particulate filters and catalytic convertors. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Few people are against cleaner air, but California’s general policy of treating

You can often gauge the quality of a mechanic by taking a close look inside his or her garage. A clean shop is the sign of an organized, patient technician who will treat you fairly and take good care of your investment. A dirty one, well, could promise to take you for a ride. And the old grease monkey’s adage, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later,” is starting to take on a new socially conscious twist with the emergence of a concept called the “green” garage, where the harsh solvents, oil stains, slippery wrenches and

Some construction leaders may be disappointed because they did not get everything they wished for in the massive $787-billion economic-stimulus legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, but they should be looking at a glass half full instead of one half empty. The law contains $130 billion of funding for construction of all types, which represents a serious increase over normal appropriations. Related Links: Unwrapping the Big Package In some markets, this would be like receiving a compensation bonus equivalent to five times one’s normal salary. For those industry firms already teetering on the brink of

The $884.5-billion economic stimulus bill now being debated in the Senate and an $819-billion version passed by the House should be called what they are: the largest government spending bills in U.S. history. The bills are not a pure stimulus but rather piles of money thrown at things that Congress seems to debate every year, now cloaked with the seemingly beneficial argument that the federal government is doing something good for the economy. There are many things that good government policies can do, like creating a positive environment for all business activity or identifying and executing public-works projects necessary for

Those debating the form of a new federal economic stimulus package cannot ignore the struggling housing market. It is the single-largest component of the U.S. economy, and its positive and negative impacts reach into every nook and cranny. Housing’s long-term prospects are bright due to positive demographics, and the market has the proven ability to lead the nation out of recession as demonstrated several times since World War Two. The problem at the moment is that the financial wreckage caused by irresponsible financial institutions needs to be cleared out, the surplus housing stock reduced and consumer confidence restored. A carefully

The time is at hand when the construction industry must stand up and make its case for  infrastructure projects to be an important part of any economic stimulus plan. There will be stiff money competition from other industries ranging from steel to auto manufacturing, but few can match construction’s quick startup of projects already in the pipeline, its speedy ramp-up of employment in a highly mobile workforce and its resulting economic benefits. There are grave doubts about the effectiveness of any stimulus package, so the scrutiny moving forward should be tough. Some economists say the tax-rebate checks early last year

These are difficult economic times. People are losing their jobs, consumer spending is down, banks are sitting on what money they have and private companies are standing pat. No one knows that better than the construction industry, whose market that was booming a year ago has gone bust. Yes, things are bad. We all know that. But there still is money out there. Despite the near-hysterical headlines, there now are water-cooler conversations about how, if you need something new, now is the time to buy. Stores are desperate to move product and are marking down prices to lure customers. The