Article Archive — Equipment Sector
Three Guidelines for Optimizing Corporate Aircraft Financing
Buying or leasing a corporate jet can help businesses operate more efficiently and is sometimes cheaper than relying on commercial airlines. But to reap those benefits, executives must carefully structure aircraft financing that suits their company’s near- to medium-term business needs.
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Machine Tool Orders Spike in 2011, More Good News to Follow With Year-End ‘Bump’
In its most recent report on U.S. machine tool orders, the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the American Machine Tool Distributors Association (AMTDA) said year-to-date through June manufacturing technology consumption totaled $2.5 billion, up 103.9% compared with 2010. “At this pace, the industry would post orders equal to all of 2010 by the end [...]
Read more...Date Posted September 28, 2011
Navigating Today’s Equipment Marketplace
What Sellers Need to Know in Order to Succeed
When it comes to reselling equipment, no matter how much research you do or how prepared you are, ultimately it’s the marketplace that determines the outcome of the sale. Understanding the marketplace, effective marketing strategies and the flexibility of your business all contribute to the success of liquidating equipment … both today and in years to come.
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Federal Infrastructure Investments
In Today’s Climate, Uncertainty Is the Name of the Game
Equipment markets can’t seem to get a break. After losing 37% of its workforce during the economic downturn, the construction equipment industry has suffered through a jobless recovery plagued by uncertainty surrounding long-term federal infrastructure investments. Given the outsized role the federal government plays in driving equipment purchases to build infrastructure projects, this uncertainty has constrained growth.
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No Break in Sight as Infrastructure Investment is ‘Threatened Like Never Before’
Last year, anxious eyes looked toward Capitol Hill for signs of a long overdue break for the construction industry. Today, the climate is cloudier than ever with the fate of infrastructure investment hanging precariously in the balance. And the numbers speak volumes. If highway investment were to be slashed to $27 billion in 2012, equipment [...]
Read more...Date Posted September 28, 2011
Lift Truck Shipments Improve Y/Y, But Market Still ‘Fragile’
Jeff Rufener, president of the Industrial Truck Association and VP of marketing at Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift of America, told Modern Material Handling that business was good in 2010 and better than expected in 2011, but it’s still “fragile.” He noted that manufacturing has been a bright spot in the economic recovery, yet that has started [...]
Read more...Date Posted September 28, 2011
A ‘Double Dip’ on the Horizon?
‘Not Likely’ Says NTEA Economist
While the media and jittery investors may be seeing another recession on the horizon, NTEA economist Steve Latin-Kasper doesn’t see it as likely. A turbulent European economy and the unbecoming proceedings surrounding the debt ceiling debate notwithstanding, Latin-Kasper thinks it’s hard to have a recession when business, consumer and government expenditures are expected to increase in 2012.
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Hammer Down: New Opportunities Surface as Trucking Industry ‘Kicks Into Gear’
The trucking industry appears to be “kicking into gear.” As such, the Monitor sought out Jon Eide, national sales manager for the Commercial Vehicle Group at Wells Fargo Equipment Finance to share his perspective. From where he sits, Eide sees many new opportunities on the horizon.
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At Long Last, Tangible Signs of a Recovery ‘Round the Bend’
As a sector, trucking is exhibiting signs that recovery is somewhere “round the bend,” but as one equipment finance executive sees it, four basic phenomena will kick this sector into high gear: pent-up demand, improving technology, reduced capacity and, at the very core, a forward-moving economy. And as the year wears on, the last point [...]
Read more...Date Posted September 27, 2011
The Future Remains Cloudy for the Construction Equipment Industry on Capitol Hill
With the upcoming midterm congressional elections only days away, AED’s Christian Klein examines how changes within government could affect legislation for the equipment industry. Here, he looks to three areas: roads and bridges, water infrastructure and tax incentives for equipment purchases to see if any changes could bring a ray of sunlight into our cloudy future.
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Execs Discuss the Cyclical, Growing Materials Handling Industry
To fully comprehend the impact the recession has had on materials handling, the Monitor spoke to Jeff Rufener and Eric Gabriel at Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America to get their take on the industry. Ranging from shipment activity to the affect of government stimulus initiatives, and from environmental equipment’s role to the impact of proposed lease accounting rules, they see the industry as healthy and growing.
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ATA Economist Predicts More ‘Slow Going’ for the Trucking Industry
Although modest growth in the trucking industry’s future seems imminent, it still looks to be slow going and will be for some time, according to American Trucking Associations economist Tavio Headley. Echoing the hesitant estimates of growth that Bob Costello provided the Monitor with last year, Headley remains cautiously optimistic.
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Marine Finance Rule #1
Create Value at the Bottom of the Cycle
Making sense of the highs and lows of the shipping markets requires, to a large extent, an insider’s understanding. But as Matt McCleery explains, rule number one in marine finance becomes clearer when a Greek ship owner and an Irish American publisher of maritime financial information meet in a New York hotel bar and the following conversation ensues…
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In the Face of a Downturn, Construction Equipment Industry Groups Launch Recovery Campaign
The sharp drop in construction activities and production of construction materials such as asphalt and cement have led to an unprecedented decline in equipment purchases. Just how bad is it for the construction equipment industry? A recent study, conducted by IHS Global Insights for two associations, paints a bleak picture. Now, the AED and AEM have combined forces to launch an aggressive campaign to tell the industry’s story on Capitol Hill.
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ATA’s Economist Sees Trucking Rebound as ‘Slow Going’
Publisher Jerry Parrotto recently spent some time with Bob Costello, chief economist of the American Transportation Associations. In an exclusive interview, Costello provided some valuable insights into the state of the trucking industry and explained why it probably won’t rebound as quickly as we would all like. We asked Jerry to sum up what he learned.
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A Transportation Equipment Dynasty
North America’s Largest Commercial Truck Dealer Weathers the Storm
Texans have a reputation for telling it like it is. So, when we wanted to get the skinny on how the domestic truck market is faring as the recession begins to wind down, we went to Rusty Rush, president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Rush Enterprises. Rush pulls no punches when describing the trauma the trucking industry, and his own company, have endured over the past two years.
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Valuing and Leasing Solar Energy
Valuing and Leasing Solar Energy
Escalating energy prices and concerns about global warming have caused an increased interest in renewable energy sources and their applications. Concepts that were once thought of as “futuristic” are now being considered as viable and necessary alternatives to nonrenewable energy sources.
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Construction Industry Remains Unsteady
Investments in the Highway Fund, Water Projects Could Bring It Back on Track
With a half million construction jobs lost since last year, the construction industry is teetering on the edge. Its resurgence depends on a variety of factors, but most of all how the industry can work together and with local, state and federal governments to make that difference.
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Construction Equipment Dealers Admit Contractors Are Feeling the Pinch
With the residential housing market going down the drain, major banks being bailed out by the Fed and company after company filing Chapter 11 or even Chapter 7, to say it’s been a rough year is an understatement. And no industry knows this better than the construction industry.
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Machine Tools Finance
Manufacturing Sector Remains Stable Despite Market Downturn
With the many factors causing the market to destabilize, it’s a relief to know that one industry sector has stayed afloat and even expanded in the past six months. U.S. Bank’s Ken Rector explains why manufacturing has maintained this relative stability.
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As Green Technology Needs Heat Up, Entrepreneur Launches Solar Equipment Leasing Firm
Stories tell of entrepreneurs coming up with seemingly brilliant ideas on a whim; one day the dreamer wakes up and has an “ah ha” moment that redefines a market. But Casey Pittock, founder and CEO of GreenTech Lease Finance, doesn’t subscribe to this notion. He believes business ideas and companies are born of study, experience and a network of smart people.
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Trucking Industry at a Crossroads
Performance Improvement Strategies for the Long Haul
The American Trucking Association estimates that trucks haul 70% of all freight tonnage and that 80% of all U.S. communities receive their goods exclusively by truck, which means that distress in the trucking industry has the potential to increase the cost of nearly all products consumed by Americans. But opportunities are out there for those that develop roadmaps for success.
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Wells Fargo Acquires CIT’s Construction Unit
The Power of Two
On June 22, Wells Fargo and the CIT Group announced they signed a purchase agreement in which Wells Fargo would acquire the construction lending unit of CIT. Ron Riecks will serve as general manager of the new entity called Wells Fargo Construction, which will be a division of Wells Fargo Equipment Finance.
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In Construction Equipment Finance, One Thing Is Constant…Continuing Change
Industry veteran Philip Cooper provides an overview of the industry — pointing out the recent changes such as Wells Fargo’s acquisition of CIT’s Construction Equipment unit, among others. In it, he finds, that although the years pass, the only thing that remains constant in the industry is, in fact, change.
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Riding Through the Rough Times
Trucking Markets Face Tough Year Amid Regulatory Changes, Freight Softening
Although the trucking industry has suffered throughout 2007 due to a drop in freight tonnage and expensive changes in emissions regulations, many truck leasing executives say that the wait for a rebound is almost over. In a roundtable with four such execs, the concensus is that trucking will bounce back by the end of the year into 2008.
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Private Equity Reshapes Trucking as Investors Bolster Top Carriers
A rising tide of buyouts by private equity firms is changing the competitive landscape of trucking. Not only is the process accelerating a transition from small family-run companies to large, professionally managed corporations, it is changing the way many for-hire carriers are organized and managed.
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In Praise of Fair Market Value Leases in Materials Handling
A Beneficial Domino Effect for You and Your Customers
To properly price a Fair Market Value lease for materials handling equipment, a lessor needs to be one part detective, one part numbers-cruncher, and one part customer advocate. The effort involved can benefit all parties to this type of lease and in today’s environment, it’s more important than ever to offer such beneficial solutions.
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Materials Handling
Manage the Fleet, Control the Budget
There are less difficult ways to manage a fleet of material handling equipment vehicles than with a pencil and clipboard, a not uncommon practice even in today’s highly computerized distribution centers. Turning the job over to a third party, human or computer, is one way to go. Here are three examples of how to tame this critical, labor intensive task.
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Keeping ‘Up to Speed’ & ‘On Track’ With Rail Assets
Should You Be Looking Down This Track?
Over the past 18 years, Railroad Financial Corp. has financed or managed rail equipment in North America and around the world valued in excess of $15 billion. Tony Kruglinski, president of Railroad Financial, provides an overview of the railroad sector, current trends and whether the effort to get “up to speed” on today’s rail equipment finance market is worth the investment.
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