37
FEBRUARY 2015
ACT
WHAT CLASSES OF CRANES ARE INHIGHEST
DEMAND?
Appling:
The largest cranes, 350 ton
capacity andup.
Ashlock
:
Crawler cranes and tower cranes.
Anderson
:
Hydraulic and all-terrain truck
cranes.
Hulse
:
At this time, our 100 to150-ton
capacity cranes are inhighdemand.
Wilson
:
(WesternU.S.)
The small
hydraulic truck cranes and the small all-
terrain cranes are seeing themost activity.
The crawler fleet and the larger all-
terrain cranes are seeing limited requests
as customers are trying toperform their
projectswith smaller cranes tokeep their
job costs down.
(EasternU.S.)
The tower cranes, aswell
as small crawler cranes, are seeing the
highest demand.
A GROWING CONCERN AMONGRENTAL
COMPANIES IS RENTAL RATES. ARE RENTAL
RATES INCREASINGAT THE SAME RATE AS THE
COST OF NEW CRANES OR LAGGINGBEHIND?
Appling
:
Rental rates are lagging
dramaticallybehind craneprices.
Ashlock
:
Rental rates are laggingbehind.
Certain segments of the industrywill pay
higher rates for late-modelmachines but
most jobswon’t pay apremium for new
cranes.
Anderson
:
Rental rates are subject to
manydifferent factors but consistently lag
behind the cost of new equipment.
Hulse
:
There is a lot of pressure on crane
rental rates, specifically in theTexas area.
A growing amount of competition in this
area ismaking the rates lag.
Wilson
:
Crane rates are still laggingway
behind the cost tobuynew cranes. This
has been the trend for at least the last six
years.
HOWHAS THE RECENT DROP IN OIL PRICES
AFFECTED THE CRANE RENTALMARKET, IF AT
ALL?
Appling
:
It has not reallyhit yet, but the
oil and gas segmentwill droppotentially
bymore than a third.
Ashlock:
Thepricedrophas helped the
overall economy, whichhas increased
construction, so it’s helped the crane
rentalmarket.
Anderson
:
At this point in timewehave
not seen any effects because of thedrop
in theprice of oil, but is has been the
topic ofmanydiscussions.
Hulse
:
I believe it is too early to tell.With
the currentmarket, we expect capital
expenditures to slowbutwe areunsure
how thiswill affect upcoming years.
CRANERENTAL
ROUNDTABLE
Wilson
:
(WesternU.S.)
Major energy
andoil companies have announced
reductions inprojects of up to60percent
in their purposedproject and capital
expenditures. Thiswill greatly reduce the
need for cranes in2015, asmoreprojects
will probably goonhold.
(EasternU.S.)
We think the overall effect
of lower oil priceswill have apositive
impact ofwork in the eastern regionof
the country.
LASTWINTER POSED CHALLENGES TOMANY
RENTAL COMPANIES THAT HAD TODELAY
PROJECTS AS ARESULT OF INCLEMENT
WEATHER. THISWINTERHASN’T BEEN
AS BADWITH FAR LESS SNOWFALL. HAS
THE DIFFERENCE BEEN SUBSTANTIAL FOR
BUSINESS?
Appling
:
It has beennoticeable, but not
substantial.
Ashlock
:
Largelyourmarkets havenot
been significantly affectedby inclement
weather.Wehavenot noticed a substantial
difference from last year.
Anderson
:
Thiswinter hasn’t been as bad
and therehas been far less snowfall to
date.
Wilson
:
(WesternU.S.)
Wedon’t seemuch
of adifference from lastwinter to this
winter.
(EasternU.S.)
Wehave experienced
higher thanusual foulweather dayswhich
causes job cancellations.
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