ACT reports growth in economic confidence
29 September 2010
American Cranes & Transport presents its third quarterly Economic Confidence Report (ECR) this month. The survey offers readers and the crane, rigging and specialized transportation industry at large, a gauge of economic trends and issues.
Conducted in February 2010, the first survey, which served as the benchmark for future reports, revealed the following: For 40 percent of those who responded, business activity during the first quarter of 2010 was lower than it was during the last quarter of 2009.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said that their business is the same as it was the previous quarter, and 23 percent said their business was actually higher this quarter than last.
Six months after our initial survey, confidence has improved. For 27 percent of those who responded, business is worse than it was the previous quarter.
For 40 percent of those who responded business was the same as it was the previous quarter and for 33 percent business is better than the previous quarter.
In looking back over the past year, 40 percent say their business activity is higher than it was a year ago. A full 25 percent say business is the same and 35 percent say business is lower than it was a year ago.
Looking ahead, our respondents were optimistic about the future but not quite as optimistic as they were in May. In 12 months, 48 percent expect business to be higher than it is now. Some 40 percent thought it would be the same and 12 percent thought business would be lower than it is now.
During the last quarter, 62 percent said they expect business activity to be higher in 12 months as compared to 50 percent who responded to this question in our first survey. Three months ago 25 percent believed their business activity would be the same in 12 months' time and 13 percent said they expected business to be lower in 12 months.
As a result of our first ACT ECR, the arrow of our gauge is within the 'Upturn' segment, indicating a weak situation but brighter future prospects.
The editors of ACT would like to thank all those who took part in the survey. It was completed by more than 247 professionals in the crane, rigging and specialized transportation industries in North America.
Of our respondents, 83 percent concentrate their work in the USA with 17 percent in Canada and 7 percent in Mexico.
Three percent said their primary business activity was Central America and 4 percent said it was South America, while 16 percent say their primary business activity is worldwide.
The survey, which takes just one minute to complete, is open to all crane and rigging professionals working in North America. The ACT ECR survey is open from the 2nd to the 11th of May, August and November 2010. If you would like to be on our list, please email the editor at [email protected] or full information can be found on ACT's home page
Questions of the month:
Do you plan on selling a crane from your fleet in the next three months?
Yes - 32 percent
No - 40 percent
Not sure - 10 percent
Other - 17 percent
Do you plan on purchasing a used crane over the next three months?
Yes - 8 percent
No - 66 percent
Not sure - 13 percent
Other - 13 percent
Methodology: The ACT Quarterly Economic Confidence Survey was e-mailed to 7,000 professionals in North America in the crane, rigging and specialized transportation sector. The survey was e-mailed on August 5, 2010 with a cut-off of August 11, 2010 for results.
Respondent profile
19 percent - crane rental company
20 percent - crane, rigging or specialized transportation company
14 percent - equipment manufacturer
10 percent - distributor
11 percent - contractor
9 percent - professional services
18 percent - other.
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