Gray Matters
The CE Team Stockpiles the Minds Behind the Machines
Come see our collection of brains. Don’t mind the clutter. We just had a shipment. We’re always getting in these new braincases for our laboratory of journalism. In fact we recently received a rare, three-headed breed of construction cranium for our museum of minds and it’s been overly productive.
Mark Bridgers, Mike Chase and Dan Tracey pooled their collective brainpower together for CE in October, in order to track the changing market trends for our big utility construction issue. These three thinkers from FMI Corp. (the bigwig consulting, training and investment banking company for the construction industry) put their noggins to work analyzing reports, industry insiders, market cycles and funding and legislation to map out the utility industry into 2008, which looks like a bright spot for the U.S. construction economy.
“Utility contractors can be confident that their services will continue to be in high demand through 2008,” assures the FMI triad in their “Utility Market Outlook” on page 14. “Many of our clients report record backlogs and FMI’s 2008 forecast indicates that capital spending by utilities will continue to outpace virtually all other industries.”
That’s good news for our utility readers and great news for our growing brain trust. Each month we get out the zombies and sniff around for the juiciest noodles in the construction, landscape and rental business. Turn to page 34 and we bring together the thinkbox behind the ride-on trencher industry (Ditch Witch, Astec and Vermeer). Page to the Truck Stop on 50 and watch us brain drain the folks at Auto Crane, oozing out the best info on electric and hydraulic cranes for commercial trucks. We figure if we gather enough minds into one great forum, we can create a kind of cerebellum stew, allowing us to see market changes before they actually happen.
Looking ahead to 2008, the Illuminati at FMI ponder the future: “The utility construction industry can again expect growth rates in every segment that will exceed both gross domestic product and inflation,” explains the FMI trio. “Despite the decidedly positive outlook, financing remains a constraint on utilities’ capital spending as debt markets tighten and the global economy slows its growth. The problem of an aging workforce in utility contracting will remain critical in 2008, as will the movement toward ‘green’ and renewable technologies.”
Next month, our cranium keepers will fill up the think tank once again and get submerged in three growing machine categories — compact utility loaders, small wheel loaders and compact grading options. In December, we’ll do the ultimate mini excavator issue, head hunting every manufacturer in the industry for their product offerings, company history and list pricing.
Every issue we promise to rack our brains (or rather pull those brains off the rack) to ensure our readers have the best insights and advice when it comes to making decisions in the equipment business.
Keith Gribbins
Managing Editor
kgribbins@benjaminmedia.com
BACK TO TOP  |
