Published Nationally
$3.00
®
Midwest Edition
March 24 2018 Vol. XX • No. 6
4
“The Nation’s Nation’sBest BestRead ReadConstruction Construction Newspaper… Founded Newspaper… Founded 1957.”1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
I-35W in Downtown Minneapolis Under Way By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
SME Conference Provides Resources…14
NTEA Hosts Annual Work Truck Show…18
After years of talk and wishful thinking, a project to improve I-35W in downtown Minneapolis is finally under way. With miles of roadway improvements calling for numerous lane, ramp and bridge closures, it promises to pose plenty of challenges for all involved, but future benefits should be well worth it, said Aaron Tag, project manager of the Minnesota Department of Transportation.“They’ve been talking about this project for more than 20 years,” Tag said. “There are four partners: MinnDot,
After years of talk and wishful thinking, a project to improve I-35W in downtown Minneapolis is finally under way.
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Table of Contents ................4 Asphalt, Concrete, Paving, Compaction & Milling Section ..........................59-83 Business Calendar ............80 Auction Section ............88-95 Advertisers Index ..............94
see MINNEAPOLIS page 30
Impact of Steel Tariffs: The Industry Reacts By Giles Lambertson
World of Asphalt Breaks Records…24
Metro Transit, the city of Hennepin and the city of Minneapolis. Everyone has money in the project. We had to get these four entities to come to together and agree on what a project should look like. Finally, the stars aligned.” The biggest challenges of the 2.5 mile, $239 million project that stretches from I-35W at I-94 to 43rd Street south of downtown are traffic and neighborhood impacts, Tag said. The project takes place in an urban core of the city and will require full repaving, the replacement of 11 bridges with 17 new
Some construction and heavy equipment associations expressed utter dismay recently at the Trump Administration’s steel and aluminum tariff decision. Yet other industry reactions to the Mar. 8 announcement were more measured, almost hopeful. The disparity in responses is a reminder that economics is not a hard science, let alone a settled one. The eventual impact of steel and aluminum tariffs is unknown, the ultimate consequences unset in concrete. Tariffs may, in fact, be more political science than anything else. They are enacted on behalf of targeted constituencies, often are employed as a negotiating tactic, and are arbitrarily imposed and rescinded. They are very much a political tool. Which is not to say a
25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum is without economic consequence. Costs Will Rise “If you accept the premise that steel is used in construction, then construction workers are going to be hurt some,” said Dr. Peri da Silva, an international trade economist in the Department of Economics faculty of Kansas State University. “There are not a lot of other ways to say that. Anyone who uses steel is going to be economically hurt. Everyone who works in industries that use steel will lose a little bit, and the steel industry is going to benefit.” Without question, the price of steel and aluminum products will go up, so profit margins will be squeezed. Rebar and steel beams for bridges or multistory structures will cost more, so project costs will
increase. Heavy equipment manufacturers will pay more for steel and aluminum components, so machines will cost more to produce, a cost they may pass along to customers. Terex Corp. already has announced it will impose a surcharge on its equipment to offset new costs incurred from the tariffs. The Associated Equipment Manufacturers certainly was not pleased at news of the tariffs. “The equipment manufacturing industry is profoundly disappointed at President Trump’s actions today to advance import tariffs on steel and aluminum,” said Dennis Slater, AEM president. “These ‘Trump Tariffs’ will put U.S. equipment manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage, risk undoing the strides our economy has made due to tax reform, and ultimately pose a threat to American workers’ jobs. President Trump should back away
from these tariffs and redouble his efforts instead on policies that will create manufacturing jobs — not put them at risk.” Stephen E. Sandherr, CEO of Associated General Contractors of America, was equally vehement in denouncing the tariffs. “These new tariffs will cause significant harm to the nation’s construction industry, put tens of thousands of high-paying construction jobs at risk, undermine the President’s proposed infrastructure initiative and potentially dampen demand for new construction projects for years to come,” he said. “That is because the newlyimposed tariffs will lead to increases in what construction firms are forced to pay for the many steel and aluminum products that go into a typical construction project.” see TARIFFS page 40