Construction Equipment Sales to Mirror Improving U.S. Housing Market
Construction equipment manufacturers and distributors are all looking ahead and hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel – and for good reason. The last couple of years in the construction business have been particularly challenging and the dark tunnel seemed to go on and on with little sign of even the faintest light in the distance. And now, while no one is giving the all clear signal about the health of the economy, there are many signs that the worst is indeed behind us and that perhaps, with a little help from the housing market, construction equipment companies will see an increase in the sales of their machinery, especially the skid steer loader.
Most surveys of the construction industry and those companies that supply machinery for the industry point out that 2010 and 2011 were extremely tough years for everyone involved. The forecast for 2012 is a bit better with many of those surveyed holding out hope that rather than a terrible year, 2012 will simply be an off year for construction projects. Some recent data from the National Association of Home Builder is confirming what many are afraid to say, that the housing market may have bottomed and is making its way back.
If housing is indeed on the mend, one of the biggest winners in the construction equipment business will be those companies that sell skid steer loaders. These sturdy, multi-purpose workhorses of the home construction industry are one of the most useful pieces of equipment on the job site and few industry analysts doubt that unit sales of these mighty tikes will increase as the housing industry improves.
The skid steer loader is a relatively compact construction machine and therefore can be used for many different jobs at the construction site, including landscaping, which is another reason why their sales will increase as landscapers get back to work adorning the exterior gardens around a new home. The skid steer loader can be equipped with many different attachments and therefore is useful for everything from demolition and construction to paving and hauling. It is the versatility of the skid steer loader that makes it such an indispensable part of the home contractor’s team of vehicles and the reason why of all of these, it is something of a weather vane for what may lie ahead for the business.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its review of the housing market on January 19, 2012. Amid the less than stellar outlook for some areas of the housing industry are bright rays of hope and signs that the construction industry has been waiting to see. Permits for privately owned housing units in December rose by 7.8% above the same level in December 2010. Single family home permits also rose during the same period by 1.8%. Housing starts for the month of December were down but when compared to the same period last year, are higher by more than 24%. Additional data from this report also indicates that housing completions are on the rise with a 9.2% increased registered from December 2010 to December 2012.
Additional data regarding the health of the housing industry is scheduled for release later this month with economists and industry analysts from every sector of the U.S. economy hoping that the improvements seen in the January report are continuing and that the housing industry is providing some much needed momentum to the recovery in the U.S. economy overall.
In the meantime, construction equipment manufacturers and suppliers will have their focus on the numbers coming from the housing market in order to get a better sense of the health of their industry. And one of the best signs that the light at the end of the tunnel is indeed getting brighter will be an increase in sales of their construction workhorse, the skid steer loader.
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