CRAWFORD GRADING & PIPELINE, INC. - TEC Tractor Times

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INDUSTRY OUTLOOKWHERE ARE WE HEADED?There’s a need for infrastructure investment,but how to fund it remains in questionThe nation’s transitsystems, including roadsand rail, are in needof repair. One studyshows $1.7 trillion isneeded during the nexteight years to bringinfrastructure up totolerable levels.Congress passed and the President signedan act that provides an extension of fundingfor surface and air transportation. It came aswelcome news to construction companies, theirsubcontractors and suppliers who work inthose sectors, but the reality is that they can onlybreathe a sigh of relief for a short period of time.The Surface and Air Transportation ExtensionAct of 2011 only provides monies into thefirst quarter of 2012 — another short-termmechanism for funding, much like whatCongress has done since the previous highwaybill expired in September of 2009. That meansthe fight for dollars to build the nation’sinfrastructure will be brought up again soon.This comes at a time when numerousstudies show America’s highways, bridges,airports and other modes of transportation aresuffering from a serious lack of investment. AnAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)report shows that to bring the nation’s surfacetransportation infrastructure up to tolerablelevels, about $1.7 trillion is needed betweennow and 2020. Current funding levels fall shortof that total by $846 billion or $94 billion peryear, according to the report.The results of underfunding are stark, the reportnotes. It will cost the economy 870,000 jobs andsuppress growth of the country’s Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) by more than $3 trillion by 2020. Itwill also cost American households and businessesmore than $129 billion in vehicle operation, delays,accidents and environmental damage.“Clearly, failing to invest in our roads, bridgesand transit systems has a dramatic, negativeimpact on America’s economy,” said ASCEPresident Kathy J. Caldwell, P.E., F.ASCE. “Thelink between a nation’s infrastructure and itseconomic competitiveness has always beenunderstood. But for the first time, we have datashowing how much failing to invest in oursurface transportation system can negativelyimpact job growth and family budgets. Thisreport is a wake-up call for policymakersbecause it shows that investing in infrastructurecontributes to creating jobs, while failing to do sohurts main street America.”According to a study by the Harvard Centerfor Risk Analysis, inadequate infrastructuresystems also contribute to health problems.The analysis looked at health costs resultingfrom higher emissions associated with roadcongestion. Results showed traffic-related airpollution as a contributing factor to heart attacksand strokes, with emissions from idle vehiclescausing nearly 4,000 premature deaths.It also costs the country in terms ofstature. A World Economic Forum report in2007-2008 ranked our nation’s infrastructuresystems sixth best in the world. In a newreport released in September 2011, the U.S.
slipped to 16th. A government report saidAmerica spends about 2 percent of GDP oninfrastructure, about half what it did 50 yearsago and well below other global leaders.Gas tax increase unlikelyA recent Market Watch article, “How tofix crumbling U.S. roads, rails and airways,”pointed out that “Deficits in the U.S. trustfunds that support the country’s Interstatesystem and civil aviation have been wideningfor years, as tax revenue failed to keep up withinflation. To fill the gaps, Congress has beentaking cash from the general fund.“But tax revenue for the general budgethas declined as well because of the economicrecession and the Bush-era tax cuts, and nowCongress is determined to eliminate the shortfallby reducing spending across the board,” itcontinued. “For every $1 billion pulled from theU.S. budget for highways, an estimated 30,000jobs are lost, according to a 2007 report from theDepartment of Transportation.”The ASCE report noted a modest investmentwould go a long way, saying an amount “equalto about 60 percent of what Americans spend onfast food each year, would: protect 1.1 millionjobs, save Americans 180 million hours in traveltime each year, deliver an average of $1,060 toeach family and protect $10,000 in GDP for everyman, woman and child in the U.S.”The gap in funding isn’t likely to decreasesoon, and may widen further. The national18.4-percent gas and 24.4-percent dieselper-gallon taxes haven’t been raised in nearlytwo decades, and the recession has meantless driving, which in turn means less fuelpurchased. More fuel-efficient cars and newstandards to further improve fuel efficiencyequate to even fewer fill-ups.Potential funding sourcesSo where will the money come from to repairand replace an ever-increasing deterioration ofthe nation’s surface, air and other transit systems?Given the economic and political climates,an increase in the gas tax isn’t likely any time Continued . . .Numerous roads andbridges have beenrated as structurallydeficient or in needof repair, causingour nations’s globalrank to fall fromsixth to 16th in termsof infrastructuresystems.Funding for surfaceand air transportationwas extended into2012, but long-termplans remain elusive.
Page 2 and 3: A MESSAGE FROMTHE PRESIDENTDan Stra
Page 4 and 5: A SALUTE TO ACUSTOMERCRAWFORD GRADI
Page 6 and 7: Growth at Crawford Grading & Pipeli
Page 8 and 9: A SPECIAL THANKSTEC CUSTOMER APPREC
Page 10 and 11: D65-17From Komatsu - The Dozer Expe
Page 14 and 15: Various funding sources offer poten
Page 16: DASH 10 EXCAVATORSFrom Komatsu - Th
Page 19 and 20: ARTICULATEDTRUCKSFrom Komatsu - The
Page 21 and 22: POINTS OF INTERESTENGAGING EXCAVATI
Page 23 and 24: KOMATSU & YOUFORECASTING THE FUTURE
Page 25 and 26: Ricky Mathis256/338-4574Chris Kohle
Page 27 and 28: INDUSTRY NEWSLOST REVENUEAnalysis s
Page 29 and 30: MORE INDUSTRY NEWSAGC lauds EPA’s
Page 31 and 32: Used Equipment SpecialsFor more inf

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