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May 3, 2014 • Vol. IX • No. 9 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910
Inside
Oso Remains a Recovery Mission After Slide By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
One month after a hillside collapsed burying dozens of homes and killing 43 victims, the work in Oso, Wash., remains a recovery mission, but plans are under way for rebuilding the stretch of highway devastated by the slide. The Washington Department of Transportation has been involved with recovering the victims, and will lead the efforts to establish State Route 530, the roadway linking the tiny town of Oso to the larger community of Darrington and beyond.
Kobelco Breaks Ground at New HQ...8
Ritchie Auction Draws 3,800 Bidders...42
“There is a human aspect involved in this,” said Travis Phelps, WSDOT spokesman. “There were a lot of victims that lost their lives. Everyone is being very sensitive to that. We’re not just going in and bulldozing. We’re being very slow, thoughtful and meticulous. We’re using excavators, backhoes, hand digging tools and chain saws to go through this material very slowly, so if we encounter human remains we can get them to the medical examiner as quickly and in the best condition as possible.” see LANDSLIDE page 28
March Job Figures Leasing Industry Confidence Reveal Mixed Bag Mayor Dan Rankin (L) of Darrington, Wash., and Mayor Barbara Tolbert of Arlington, Wash., watch the cleanup process.
Alex Lyon Host s Late Rental Fleet Sale...44
Table of Contents ................4 Attachment Section .............. ........................................9-11 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ......................................21-23 Recycling Section ........29-37 Auction Section ............40-51 Business Calendar ............46 Advertisers Index ..............50
Remains at Two-Year High The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) released the April 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCIEFI). 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 $827 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 65.1, remaining at the highest index level in two years for the second consecutive month. When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent Thomas Jaschik, president, BB&T Equipment Finance, said, “The first quarter of 2014 had positive results with respect to new
business activity, and the economy is on a positive trajectory. The conclusion of the winter of 2013-2014 may be the catalyst for pent-up demand to begin to be released. This will have a positive impact on the equipment finance market throughout 2014.” April 2014 Survey Results: The overall MCI-EFI is 65.1, unchanged from the March index. • When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 37 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 31.4 percent in March. 60 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 65.7 percent in see FINANCE page 48
Construction firms added jobs in 38 states over the past 12 months, although job gains leveled off between February and March, according to an analysis April 18 by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said the ongoing year-over-year gains point to the urgency of revitalizing and initiating programs to encourage workers and graduating students to get construction careers. “The widespread gains in employment from a year ago are encouraging, given the tough winter many states experienced right through March,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The never-ending winter of 2014 may account for the dip in the number of states that added construction jobs in the latest month, but it is also possible that single-family homebuilders are not adding workers as some forecasters expected.” Florida again led all states in both percentage and total construction gains with an 11.5 percent rise and 41,000 new jobs between March 2013 and March 2014. Other states adding a high percentage of new construction jobs for the past 12 months included Oregon (10.8 percent, 75,800 jobs) and Minnesota (10.4 percent, 10,200 jobs). see JOBS page 48