Published Nationally
$3.00
®
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.”
Midwest Edition
www.constructionequipmentguide.com
January 2, 2016 • Vol. IXX • No. 1 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
4
Inside
President Signs Tax Extenders Bill Into Law On Dec. 18, President Obama signed into law tax extenders legislation that will extend more than 50 expired provisions of the tax code, including several key pro-business initia-
Bobcat, Doosan Help NDSU Dedicate STEM Classroom…10
tives. Among the most vital aspects of the legislation, the extenders bill will expand and make permanent the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit, providing U.S.
companies much needed certainty and greater access to one of the most valuable and pro-growth tax incentives. The two key expansions to the R&D Tax Credit will
begin in 2016. First and foremost, businesses with less than $50 million in gross receipts will now be able to claim the credit against their Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT),
thereby removing the single greatest barrier preventing companies from claiming the credit in the past. Secondly, the bill includes a provision that opens the see LAW page 74
Parkway Connects Highways, Divides Opinions By Lori Lovely CEG CORRESPONDENT
Ritchie Bros. Hosts Largest-Ever Auction…90
Bunch Bothers Conducts Annual Fall Auction…92
Table of Contents ................4 Attachment & Parts Section ......................................31-35 Recycling Section ........51-66
Work on the final 1.7-mi. (2.7 km) section of the Ronald Reagan Parkway is under way, after waiting until after Labor Day in order to accommodate traffic for the NHRA U.S. Nationals at nearby Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, drag racing’s big event. In the weeks since then, significant progress has been made, according to Grant Kleinhenz, Brownsburg’s town manager. “It’s a simple, straight-forward job, cutting grade through farm fields and connecting roads, with no traffic or utilities to worry about. There are not a lot of street cuts.” Due to a dry, warm autumn and predictions of an equally mild winter, Kleinhenz expects to reach his year-end goal of finishing the grade crossing over SR 136. “It’s already formed and the ramp built.” Connect the Dots The Ronald Reagan Parkway is a 12-mi. (19.3 km) road that will serve as the county’s
The borrow lake is a new long and thin retention pond on private property on the southeast side of CR 400, close to the ROW.
major north-south connector between Interstates 74 and 70. The first mile, from U.S. 36 to CR 100 N, was completed in 1996. This final section, which will stretch from CR 300
N to I-74, is expected to be finished Dec. 15, 2016, with final grading and seeding wrapping up the following spring. see PARKWAY page 50
Nov. Job Growth Up in Construction Industry
Strong demand for construction available workers was likely keep- rapidly if contractors could find months, suggesting a need for even Truck & Trailer Section ........ projects fueled job growth in ing firms from expanding head- enough qualified workers.” more workers. He cautioned that ......................................75-83 November in 38 states compared to counts even more rapidly in many Nationally, construction filling those openings may be diffi-
Auction Section ............88-93 Business Calendar ............89 Advertisers Index ..............94
October and in all but six states over the past 12 months, according to analysis of Labor Department data released Dec. 18 by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said, however, that the shortage of
parts of the country. “In nearly every state, contractors are busier now than a year ago,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the association. “Employment is up, but the industry would be expanding even more
employment climbed by 4.2 percent from November 2014 to November 2015 — more than double the rate for total nonfarm employment, Simonson noted. He added out that construction spending rose 13 percent in the latest 12
cult in many states because the number of unemployed jobseekers in November who last worked in construction was at the lowest November level in 15 years. see EMPLOYMENT page 70