The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released the April 2020 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $900 billion equipment finance sector. Overall,…
Owing to the substantial uncertainty stemming from both COVID-19 and the impact of social distancing measures on the U.S. economy, investment in equipment and software is projected to contract severely in 2020, to between -8.6 and -13.5 percent. Similarly, the U.S. economy is expected to have its worst year in decades, with annual growth slowing…
Reflecting the growing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, home builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes plunged 42 points in April to 30, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The decline in April was the largest single monthly change in the history of the…
As communities, states, and countries around the globe continue to address the health crisis created by COVID-19, personal protection equipment (PPE) for medical personnel and first responders remains in high demand. To help address this need in their community, team members from Genie, a Terex brand, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., have been working on a…
Survey of Construction Firms by the Associated General Contractors of America Finds More Than Half of Firms Have Had Projects Halted as 74 Percent Seek New Paycheck Protection Loans to Retain Staff With the COVID-19 pandemic worsening by the week, an ever-increasing share of contractors are reporting cancellations of upcoming projects and shortages of equipment…
Estimated February not seasonally adjusted construction unemployment rates fell nationally and in 37 states, rose in 12 states and were unchanged in one state (Texas) on a year-over-year basis, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by Associated Builders and Contractors. As of February 2020, the construction industry employed 208,000…
John Deere, in collaboration with the UAW, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, has joined a number of organizations and companies across the country to produce protective face shields for health-care workers in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. Employees started production on Wednesday, April 8, at the John Deere…
Construction industry employment declined by 29,000 in March, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonresidential construction employment declined by 24,600 in March. All three nonresidential segments registered job losses, with the largest decrease experienced in nonresidential building (-10,700) followed closely by heavy and…
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced new action regarding how American workers and employers will benefit from the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)…
After 42 States Added Jobs in February, Coronavirus is Taking a Swift and Severe Toll on the Industry, Prompting Association Officials to Call for Additional Measures to Help Workers and Firms Recover Thirty-nine percent of contractors report that project owners have halted or canceled current construction projects amid deteriorating economic conditions, according to a survey…