Is there a Recession on the Horizon and How Would it Affect the Demolition Industry
Published by John on
FIRST PUBLISHED ON 8/12/19 BUT APPROPRIATE TODAY!!
The bond market is booming sending, out a signal that there is a flight to security, does that foretell a recession? An upward movement of the gold and silver markets signals a move into security as well. Daily we hear economists and pundits speaking about the possibility. There is no sure answer but history tells us every expansion ends sooner or later<, the current one is the longest in history. If and when the downturn comes what of the demolition industry, how does it affect our business?
As I see it, much of the business over these expansion years has come from (other than natural disasters etc) basically tearing down the old or in many instance not so very old, to build bigger and better, be it a sky scraper in Manhattan or a home on a lot in FL. Which begs the question, what happens when the private sector work dries up as it has in every recession?
What happened to the industry 2006 – 20012 should offer some insight. During that time funding for projects became more difficult to obtain and private demolition projects declined almost 60% causing major problems and worse for many in the industry. Once healthy firms, folded or were forced to borrow on equipment long ago paid for. There were few jobs around and those available often were friend favorable or went to the wildcats of the industry underbidding honest and legitimate businesses.
Govt spending, from the Fed to the small town, was where the jobs, if any, could be found. The overriding factor is, the various govt bodies be it local, state or federal always have money to spend. Beyond that, Congress and the sitting President are eager to dig out of any recession to garner votes. This holds true for governors and mayors. We saw that first hand during the last and all previous economic downturns. If you think back even to the great depression, shovel ready jobs became prevalent, and we know that today, bridges and infrastructure, across this country are in sad shape both on Fed Highways and small town roadways. Growth in many areas force municipalities to expand or build new offices. In the past, long delayed projects found their way to the front of the list and were put into play. No one is hoping for an economic downturn but it will come and those prepared will weather any storm.
Rather than go into a long historical dissertation of the reasons and affects, as hindsight on causes are always debatable we need to look to the future. The suggestion is, if you have not been involved with Govt bidding in the past it may be time to get acquainted with it prior to it becoming a necessity. If you have not been part of the process, the question is why? If you feel it is time to get involved and seek some help or answers to questions, John from www.envirobidnet.com who has been on both sides of the process from bidding to working at state procurement as far back as 1985 will help with questions or point you in the right direction. There is no cost nor obligation. He can be reached by email faconej@envirobidnet.com . Please no phone calls at this time.
