Heard this on CNBC they said 4th quarter sales fell off the cliff.
Harley is cutting 12% across the board and eliminating all their trucking jobs. cat will be hurting till the government gets some big projects cut loose. since it takes congress about 6 months to get all the pork added and the engineers a year or two to get designs out, things will be bad for a good while. even the chinese are cutting back on projects cause we are not buying as much of their stuff. Bill
A link to the article - http://www.cnbc.com/id/28853723
It's bad news no matter how you look at it.
Oh man... and IBM 6000 and Microsoft 5000 .... this is getting worse.
Plenty of work in Jacksonville FL. Trucks and equipment everywhere.
Who didnt see this happening? I mean, no money being lent, means not many private projects. Housing market in the crapper, no work there. The final nail in the coffin, metal markets taking a huge hit. No money left in scrap or new ore. Copper is down to $3000 a ton. Down from somewhere around $8000 a ton. The only bright side seems to be gold right now. But from what I have seen in the past, they really dont expand on a massive scale. Combine this with a new president that seems to have a hatred for coal. No one is buying mining equipment on top of no one buying general equipment. It is no surprise that cat is laying off like this.
many of the 20,000 were already been layed off last year. I think there are only 8,000 more to get to the 20,000. CAT CEO said he expects some recovery later in the year.
Consider yourself lucky! I heard many areas of FL are really dead.
You can work a KFC for what they want to pay in FL!
Heard on the news this morning that Deere was also preparing to make job cuts. Didn't say how many or where though...
I thought I saw 15400 this morming on TV but could not find it.
The media are thriving on this economy issue. I strongly urge the members here not to succumb to media overblowing of the economic crisis issues. They love to keep the public feeling like sheep. In a few conversations I've had with contractors about public bid letting to this point (its early in the year yes) They have told me public contracts are being let as usual so far and that they expect additional lettings beyond what is usually issued this year. The engineers always have work in the wings waiting for funds to trickle down the pipe to them. This may not be true in ALL areas but the ones I have been in touch with both in NY and FL are telling me the same things. The company I am currently employed by has a contract to mill and pave an 8 mile section just outside Jacksonville on Interstate 10, not only is that job on for sure but they added a section INSIDE the beltway (295) with a demand to have it done ASAP. We statrted in last Sunday with a 7 day a week time table = they want that section finished ASAP. Couple of things, being thats an Interstate, thats federal money alloted to the state/region. If Obama and that stimulus nonsense hasn't kicked in yet, there shouldn't be any money for this type of road repair yet, we are on it WITH an additional section off the original contract. This is why I urge the members here not to fall for the hype the media propagates on society. Its entirely true things have slowed down in many sectors, I'm not trying to deny that, but its overblown to the point of where it manipulates public opinion thereby the people in turn expect MORE when things eventually do happen. That result is usually unfounded, not as many jobs show up, its business as usual until the private sector do their fair share IF they even get the allotments they need in order to go forward. There should ALWAYS be enough to keep operators busy, even if they do not like the conditons, its there.
Not much work on Long Island and NYC will be dead in less than a year. Yes the media likes to have panicked people listen but work is scarce and getting worse.
NYC has a few issues with accidents over this past year. That city is harsh on the construction industry overall. From what I've heard they are going to re-write alot of the building codes which are dated, which leads to a lack of issuing permits and THAT will about grind things to a halt in certain areas. I'm not trying to downplay the fact things are bad everywhere but at the same time just not to let people get into a slump over it, thats how opportunities get missed, when your not looking.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/01/22/video-no-stimulus-money-for-white-males/ So don't plan on working on these jobs.
That article is the usual media trash. It is impossible to believe even a second that affirmative action means anything in public contracting. Nearly all the asphalt milling companies in the southeast are owned by white females, the men are usually the husbands. Some of the states go job to job collecting information on the numbers of minority workers for the sake of statistic collections but the fact remains that heavy equipment operators are predominately white males. Up north the numbers of women and minority operators falls WAY off compared to the southern states. ANY operators union halls in the north will be a majority white male dominated. Nothing can be done to manipulate those numbers. Yesturday I was in our shop while the a CAT technician was present and we had a few words. He was on his laptop reading an email. he explained that CAT management is sending out emails in droves explaining methods of cutting costs and maintaining a strict regime towards service costs.
CAT announced another 2,110 layoffs of production employees today on top of the 20,000. http://www.cat.com/cda/components/fullArticle?m=38622&x=7&id=1321143
This week 100,000 people lost their job. Accidents are not part of the slow down as i see it, in NY it is money. Financing for projects is dried up and all the job losses on Wall Streethas killed the real estate market. Some projects in the 50+ story hieght are now stopped at the foundation. Tower cranes are all going back to the yard instead of the next job as they have in the past boom years. It is going to get real rough. Oshkosh Falls Most in 7 Months, Amends Covenants (Update2) Email | Print | A A A By Elizabeth Campbell and Will Daley Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Oshkosh Corp., the Wisconsin-based maker of scissor lifts and military trucks, fell the most in seven months after saying it entered talks to amend its credit agreement amid weakening demand for construction equipment. Below is the company that makes most of the telehandlers in the country, many of the man lifts, trucks, and truck bodies. I just saw some Lulls which are 57,000 plus go for 17,500 at the ripe age of 4 years old. Oshkosh declined $3.29, or 30 percent, to $7.53 at 4:05 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest percentage drop since June 26. The stock has fallen 83 percent in the past 12 months. Slowing orders at some divisions, including the access equipment unit that manufactures scissor lifts and aerial work platforms, make it likely Oshkosh may violate some covenants under its credit agreement in the second quarter. The company has entered talks with its lead banks to amend its credit agreement. Oshkosh predicted an amendment would be in place by March, and that it will incur higher interest costs. “The debt covenant waivers will add significant fees and interest expenses,” Charles Brady, a Boston-based analyst with BMO Capital Markets with a “market perform” rating on the stock, wrote today in a note to investors. “We do not see a positive catalyst for the stock until debt covenants are renegotiated and profitability improves.” Oshkosh said order activity “slowed more sharply” than it expected at the access equipment unit because of sagging worldwide construction markets. “This near drought in demand is unprecedented and has really caused us to reassess near-term expectations for access equipment,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Bohn said today on a conference call. Suspends Earnings Forecasts The company also today said it withdrew its full-year earnings forecast and won’t issue new projections because demand for many products has become “increasingly volatile” along with fluctuating commodity prices and foreign currency exchange rates. Oshkosh, which posted a fiscal first quarter net loss, said it cut the company’s workforce by an additional 7 percent. The company has now reduced its workforce by about 2,400, or 17 percent, spokeswoman Ann Stawski said today in an interview. Moody’s Investors Service lowered Oshkosh’s rating two levels to B2, or five levels below investment grade, from Ba3, citing the company’s need to seek financial covenant relief. “Oshkosh’s commercial segment, which produces vehicle bodies such as concrete mixers and waste removal trucks, is also being negatively impacted by softening demand for its products due to the economic slowdown in North America and Western Europe,” Moody’s said in a statement. Standard & Poor’s Rating Services followed suit and lowered Oshkosh’s corporate credit rating two levels to B, or 5 levels below investment grade, from BB-. To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Campbell in Chicago at [email protected] . Last Updated: January 29, 2009 16:41 EST