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May 21 2011 Vol. VII • No. 11
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215/885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215/885-2910 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
I-70 Rockfall Presents Tricky U.S. Steel Stays Situation for Contractor Optimistic for Second Quarter
Midco to Carry Chicago Pneumatic Products...12
By Sandy Shore AP BUSINESS WRITER
Vaughan Auction Group Holds Sale...44
Ty Ortiz CDOT photo
Crews take stock of the rockfall situation above Interstate 70 in Colorado.
By Rebecca Ragain CEG CORRESPONDENT
Sales Strong for Cat Auction in Dallas...46
Table of Contents ............4 Crushing, Screening & Recycling Section ....13-20 Attachments Section21-24 Truck & Trailer Section .... ..................................33-36
Ryan Fetzer, president of Midwest Rockfall, feels like he aged 10 years in a month — courtesy of what was supposed to be a fairly typical, small-scale project. Midwest Rockfall was awarded an $800,000 rockfall mitigation project on Colorado’s Interstate 70, between Empire Junction and Georgetown. The scope of the project initially
Auction Section ......41-51 Advertisers Index ..........50
see ROCKFALL page 32
Truck Maker Volvo’s Q1 Profits More Than Double By Karl Ritter ASSOCIATED PRESS
Business Calendar ........37
included installing five different fences, plus some slope netting, to prevent rocks from rolling down a particular chute of Georgetown Hill and landing on the highway. It was projected to be an eight- or nine-person job and was scheduled to last about four months. Rockfall mitigation projects are common in the area. Since 2006, the Colorado Department of Transportation has spent between $8 and $9 million on Georgetown Hill mitigation proj-
STOCKHOLM (AP) Swedish truck maker AB Volvo saw profits more than double in the first quarter as demand for heavy vehicles improved worldwide, the company said April 27. The maker of Volvo, Mack, Renault and UD
trucks raised its outlook for its biggest markets — Europe and North America — where its truck sales were up by 33 percent in the first three months of 2011. Chief executive Leif Johansson said higher volumes and improved productivity helped lift profits.
United States Steel Corp. believes business will improve in the second quarter, as the recovering global economy sparks more demand for steel. The nation’s largest steelmaker forecast higher prices and stabilizing raw materials costs in the second quarter. The company said customer order rates have moderated recently, but it remained cautiously optimistic. It’s similar to outlooks from Nucor Corp. and AK Steel Holding Corp., which also expect better second-quarter results. The industry has seen some market weakness, particularly in construction, and expects some impact from auto production cutbacks following Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March. “I think the one thing that all these companies are talking about are higher raw material and input costs, and those things seem to be front-page concerns,” Argus Research analyst Bill Selesky said. U.S. Steel Corp. said its first-quarter loss narrowed sharply as it sold more steel at higher prices, although it paid more for raw materials such as coal and scrap steel. It lost $86 million, or 60 cents per share, in the first three months of the year. That compared with a loss of $157 million, or $1.10 per share, in the same part of last year. The most recent results reflected an $81 million one-time gain on foreign currency exchanges. Sales increased 25 percent from the year-ago quarter to $4.86 billion. The results missed analysts’ estimates see STEEL page 32
see PROFITS page 32