Related Links: The appeal of renting equipment and renting for longer terms is increasing among contractors because of "the uncertainty created by the economic downturn of the last few years and an unwillingness to commit to purchases, given the work situation," says Sidney Sexson, senior vice president at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Tempe, Ariz.Scarce new development activity amid tight lending conditions has ratcheted up the rivalry among job-hungry contractors, leaving more firms vying for fewer projects. The increased competition has narrowed already slim bidding margins, forcing contractors to eke out a financial edge wherever possible. For some firms, that has
Related Links: Dramatic Digs Mark Panama Canal Expansion Progress A Shaky History in Panama Meeting the quality level called for in the Panama Canal's new locks while producing the massive volume of concrete required to finish the job by the expected fall 2014 completion date has called for extreme equipment solutions. For each primary process—batching, conveying and placing—the material is tightly controlled.The sheer volume of concrete—more than five million cubic meters—has to be built to meet the structures' projected century-long life span. As a result, the quality standards for the concrete are extremely high. The entire lock worksites on the
Freightliner ranked highest in customer satisfaction for both the vocational and on-highway segments. Related Links: Retooling for Clean Diesels Read the J.D. Power Results Owners of heavy-duty trucks, such as Class 8 dump trucks, concrete mixers and tractor trailers, report increasing quality problems due to the latest round of clean-diesel regulations, according to a study from J.D. Power and Associates released late last month.Trucks that are one year old decreased in quality from the previous model year, says J.D. Power, which, like ENR, is a unit of the McGraw-Hill Cos. Problems rose 9% and are mostly related
Related Links: Deere Expands Into Brazil (requires login) Chinese Heavy Equipment Digs In Globally Big Fleet Owners Want Service That Stands Tall As new, construction-equipment brands—many of them Chinese—arrive in the Brazilian market, fleet owners here say they want superior after-sales support. This level of service, they add, will make the difference between the success or failure of newcomers in the country.Vendors broadly discussed the issue at the M&T Expo 2012, held from May 29 to June 2 in São Paulo, Brazil. M&T Expo is the largest trade fair for construction machinery in Latin America. Produced every three years, this
Related Links: New Clean Diesels Hit the Jobsite Carbon Regulations Drive Diesel Lubricant Standards Diesel exhaust, which is common on construction sites due to the prevalence of heavy equipment and trucks, causes lung cancer and may increase the risk of bladder cancer, says the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization. The agency announced the new health risk on June 12.Diesel advocates counter that modern regulations have brought emissions to near-zero levels. Though WHO recognizes this, it says that "while the amount of particulates and chemicals are reduced with these changes, it is
Related Links: Euro Forklifts Handy for Bridge Inspections Eurozone Debt Crisis Takes Its Toll on Construction (requires login) Best known as the world's largest manufacturer of telehandlers, Manitou Group's business took a significant hit during the downturn. Refreshed, it now intends to compete against the likes of Bobcat with what would be the world's largest skid-steer loader.Late last month, Manitou Group president and CEO Jean-Christophe Giroux offered an assessment of the Ancenis, France-based equipment manufacturer's performance through the global construction recession. "We certainly did some white-water rafting back in 2008 and 2009," he said during an event in Punta Umbria,
Volvo Volvo's Olney says manufacturer is benefiting from investments to expand global capacity, research and development and strategic alliances. Related Links: Volvo Ocean Race Volvo CE President Lays Out North American Expansion Instead of cutting costs during the economic downturn, Volvo’s construction equipment unit has invested heavily in its global manufacturing and distribution networks and plowed money into research and development in the past few years. The expenditures are starting to pay off, says Pat Olney, chief executive and president of Volvo Construction Equipment North America. First quarter revenues were a record for the Shippensburg, Pa.-based arm of the Swedish
Photo Courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC The Ram 1500 gets a mild exterior redesign for 2013, but under the hood it carries new hardware that promises fuel efficiency. Related Links: Test Drive: 2012 Ram Tradesman 1500 More ENR Equipment News PickupTrucks.com Chrysler started out performing a mild refresh of the Ram 1500, but its engineers got carried away and have packed the 2013 truck with features never seen on a light-duty pickup."We changed every area of the truck, from a newly designed frame with air suspension to a new eight-speed transmission [and] a new interior," says Fred Diaz, Ram president
Related Links: More ENR Product and Equipment News Video Review: 2012 Ram Tradesman Just about every breed of pickup truck can be had in a bare-bones, work-truck package, but Ram has a special name for it: Tradesman. While many value-line trucks offer austerity on all fronts, Ram takes a different tack by assembling a more thoughtful mix of practical, low-cost features that appeal to the construction class. For example, a V-8 engine is standard on the Tradesman, but you still get to crank the windows by hand. This is a truck for a purist, not a weekend enthusiast.Introduced last year,
Related Links: Why Contractors Are Renting More and Buying Less United Rentals To Buy RSC for $1.9 Billion United Rentals Inc. finalized its $4.2 billion in cash-and-stock purchase of RSC Holdings Inc. on April 30. The deal—first announced in December—includes $2.3 billion in assumed net debt. It is believed to be the largest equipment-rental company merger in history. In part due to the significance of the deal, company executives say they are weighing a possible name change.The purchase received 83% shareholder approval. The deal gives RSC shareholders $10.80 in cash per share and 0.2783 of a share of United common
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