Dive summary:
- American contractors have to try to latch onto any instance of growth in the market while hedging their bets by not over-committing to costs that will be embedded in their operation.
- They are becoming more like their English counterparts, who rent 80% of the equipment on a job, and often the operator with it.
- If Congress cannot eliminate the fiscal cliff by year's end, some estimates say the recovery in construction will get pushed into 2015-16, which would mean contractors will have to keep looking for temporary options to avoid long-term investments in an uncertain market. By the time the recovery arrives, renting could have become the American norm.
From the article:
Within the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of listening to three very good analysts who all agreed on one thing — if the fiscal cliff is not dealt with by the end of this year, the construction recovery could get pushed out to 2015-16. ...