Equipment Industry's Orange Flags Warn Congress of Job Losses Ahead

 

A sea of 5,500 orange flags, each one representing 100 jobs already lost in the construction equipment industry. The orange flag has become a symbol of Start Us Up USA!, a grassroots campaign launched in September by AED and AEM to draw attention to the equipment industry economic crisis. - Courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the wake of dismal government unemployment data, two leading construction equipment industry trade groups are warning Congress that that the economy will shed more jobs in the coming months unless lawmakers swiftly enact a new multi-year highway law.

The warning came in the form of orange flags sent to every member of Congress by Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) and Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). The flags were accompanied by details of a recent IHS Global Insight economic report that found the equipment industry had lost 37 percent of its workforce in the last three years, the equipment industry downturn had cost 550,000 jobs nationwide, and equipment sales had declined 50 percent since 2006.

With construction equipment taking it hard during the recession, now may be a good time to get a deal on needed equipment. Financing the purchase may be a challenge, but the rates will be excellent.

In conjunction with a recent Washington, D.C., rally and idle construction equipment caravan through the streets of the nation's capital, the associations planted 5,500 orange flags in the National Mall - one for each 100 jobs lost since 2006 as a result of the downturn in the equipment industry.

AED and AEM are urging Congress to swiftly reauthorize the federal highway program and increase investment in roads and bridges to stop the job bleed and put the construction industry back to work. SAFETEA-LU, the most recent blueprint for federal highway spending, expired on Sept. 30 and neither chamber of Congress has yet voted on a new transportation bill.

The uncertainty surrounding reauthorization and future highway funding levels has led many contractors to put off equipment purchases, which has contributed to historic volatility in equipment markets.

- Courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers