How is the Construction Equipment Market Doing?

Like other parts of the construction sector, the equipment market has seen increased, yet variable, activity over the last several years. While the market continues to grow, most industry associations and research firms monitoring the sector have noted the volatility. For example, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA) recently released their annual review of equipment finance activity. They noted that 2016 saw a 2.5 percent increase in New Business Volume. Although this represented nearly a 10 percent drop from the prior year, ELFA analysts pointed overall to seven consecutive years of growth. Similarly, a recent survey of equipment rental dealers found that most people remain positive about business conditions and pricing in the equipment market. In addition, used equipment pricing appears to be stabilizing. This may indicate that the demand for new equipment will rise.

While overall growth in this sector in 2017 is modest, industry surveys have identified some indicators of things to come, including:

• Equipment managers anticipate an increased demand for non-residential construction equipment in the coming months, as the inquiries regarding rentals have been rising.
• About half of the equipment managers surveyed believe the demand for earthmoving equipment, often used on infrastructure and non-residential projects, is increasing.
• Managers in the southeast and southwest have the highest growth expectations.

The earnings reports of some of the largest equipment manufacturers substantiate the survey data. In their quarter two earnings report, Caterpillar indicated that construction equipment demand in North America was higher, primarily due to improved residential and non-residential building activity, and only slightly offset by lower sales for infrastructure construction equipment.

No matter what is on site, you need to be sure it’s protected. Whether it is owned, rented or borrowed, Great American will help protect the equipment so the focus can stay on the operations. Our Contractor’s Equipment coverage is a highly flexible policy that offers two form options, Automatic Acquisition Coverage Form and Traditional Scheduled Form. These forms provide coverage for expenses that are often overlooked, such as Debris Removal, Pollution Clean-up, Fire Department Service and Crime Reward.

With a Contractor’s Equipment policy, you can also choose to take advantage of other optional coverages available for maximum protection of:

• Leased and Rented Equipment from others
• Rental Expenses of substitute equipment
• Borrowed Equipment
• Contractor’s Equipment Plus Endorsement
• Loss of Business Income and/or Extra Expense

To learn more about Property & Inland Marine’s Contractor’s Equipment coverage and its flexible and competitively priced forms, click here.

For those clients in the Oil & Gas industry, depending on the phase of the site, equipment needs can change from week to week. Oil and gas production is a multifaceted operation that requires a variety of equipment, and you need to be sure your equipment is protected with a competitive and flexible policy that goes beyond the basics with automatic coverage for the unexpected.

By choosing Property & Inland Marine’s Oil & Gas Equipment coverage, policies can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each site with a variety of optional coverages, including:

• Plus Endorsement provides a broader policy to insure incidental loss exposure. This includes Equipment Leased, Rented or Borrowed from others, Continuing Rental Expenses, Loss to Undamaged Attachments, and Removal Expenses.
• Loss of Business Income and/or Extra Expense coverage addresses the indirect loss exposure often associated with covered physical losses of unique equipment.
• Oil & Gas Equipment Leased and/or Rented from others on a short-term basis.
• Underground Buy-Back Endorsement that covers portions of specified property while underground.

Click here to learn more about the maximum protection and flexibility that Oil & Gas Equipment coverage from Great American offers.

With Great American’s GREATpolicy® tool, it is easy to quote, bind and issue eligible Contractor’s Equipment policies – all in a matter of minutes. Log into GREATpolicy.GAIG.com to get started now. Click here to learn more!