MILWAUKEE - The construction machinery manufacturing industry continues to show a downward trend in growth, according to the latest shipments data released by the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association (CIMA).

In the CIMA quarterly Construction Equipment Shipments Index for year-end 2000, machinery shipments were 17.5 points higher compared to the previous year, but were stagnant when compared to the previous quarter, with a 0.2-point drop.

"This drop is not unexpected given the softening of overall business activity, as we continue to reflect the pattern of the general economy," said CIMA President Dennis Slater. "Our industry has shown remarkable resiliency coming off several years of record growth, but we have definitely entered a slowdown phase in the past several months, as our index numbers indicate. We look ahead, however, with some optimism that by the fourth quarter of 2001 business will be headed in a better direction."

Machinery covered in the CIMA Index includes compaction equipment (17 types); crushers ( nine types); cranes (five types); asphalt pavers; cold planers; soil stabilizers; rock drills; screening equipment (three types); horizontal feeders; portable air compressors; mounted breakers; concrete pavers (four types); light towers; generators; pneumatic tools (six types); and boom trucks.