Site Prep

Time is running out for the construction equipment manufacturing industry and you need to get involved in its fight for survival. The recession has indeed been deep for some sectors of the economy, but few, if any, have taken the beating experienced by the construction equipment manufacturing industry. You can show your support for the industry by joining the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 for a Start Us Up USA! campaign rally in Chicago, starting at 10 a.m. at Soldier Field. 

Start Us Up USA! is a national grassroots and media campaign that launched in Las Vegas on September 29 (for video of the earlier rally in Las Vegas, go here). It will continue with another rally in Washington, DC on October 28, 2009. The motive for Start Us Up USA! is simple; the industry needs a fully-funded long-term federal highway bill. 

The simplest way to explain the importance of this piece of federal legislation to the life of the construction equipment manufacturing industry is this: a fully-funded highway bill will promote significant long-term funding and planning for serious construction projects, such as new bridges, new roads and other infrastructure improvements. Long-term planning means construction contractors have market certainty and can afford to buy new equipment.

Stop-gap funding, such as the extensions promoted by some in Congress and the Administration, does not allow for long-term planning and makes it financially impractical for contractors to purchase new equipment. With real, long-term funding of a federal highway bill, the construction equipment industry in the US can thrive again. Without it, this sector of US manufacturing will continue to decline and we will have less efficient and safe roads and highways.

If this sounds too dire to believe, please see the information from a new study as well as the economic data from the study.

But how should the country pay for the bill? AEM has always said “Every funding option must be on the table: toll roads, user fees, public private partnerships, bonds, sales, property taxes, income taxes, etc.”  And that includes a gas tax. Our current gas tax to pay for roads and bridges hasn’t been increased for more than a decade. Even Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) has spoken openly of the need for a gas tax (here and here). No one likes taxes, but in this case the trade off in improved infrastructure and jobs is worth it. 

So what will our industry choose to do? Congress must decide by October 31, 2009 if it will commit to long-term funding or if it will approve an extension that will keep the industry in jeopardy. The choice to speak up for a fully-funded highway bill is the only path forward.  

Join us at Soldier Field and in DC and show your support for the construction equipment manufacturing industry. And tell your Congressional delegation what you think.