Funding Uncertainty Didn't Matter Innovation Advances

摘要

The biggest factor that affected the highway-class concrete paver market at this writing was the lack of a long-term highway bill. It's no secret that contractors don't like to plan major purchases, especially purchases as large as a slipform concrete paver, when they can't be certain how much work they'll have in the foreseeable future. With the FAST Act now a reality, contractor purse strings may indeed open wider. But paver manufacturers didn't sit idle during the uncertainty. They continued to emphasize innovation. One niche, airport paving, has been holding its own, as expansions are underway at some of the nation's largest airports. "The current market is flat to marginally up, if airport paving is included," says Wirtgen America's Tim Nash, director, Concrete Products.