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CBO Editorial Staff

  • Equipment

    Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Announces Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2012

    Washington, DC, January 9, 2012— The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) which represents the $628 billion equipment finance sector, revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2012.  Given that every year U.S. businesses, nonprofits and government agencies spend in excess of $1.2 trillion in capital goods or fixed business investment (including software), financing more than half of those assets, these trends impact a significant portion of the U.S. economy.  Growth, uncertainty and numerous end-user benefits underlie many of the trends that businesses acquiring equipment this year can expect.  ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton said, “Equipment acquisition has played a critical role in driving the supply chains across all U.S. manufacturing and service sectors. We have distilled recent research data, including the...

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  • Resources

    The Rental Show 2012 Will Feature Expanded Educational Opportunities

    (Jan. 9, 2012) MOLINE, IL – More seminars than ever before, more formats to choose from and a wide variety of instructors including such notable names as Dan Kaplan and Steve Abercrombie are all part of the educational agenda at The Rental Show in New Orleans. The Show will kick off with a full day of seminars on Sunday, Feb. 5, with additional educational sessions the mornings of Tuesday, Feb. 7, and Wednesday, Feb. 8. In total, there will be 30 seminars – surpassing any other year of The Rental Show. “We have expanded the educational opportunities to provide the attendees with relevant and practical information that will help them improve their rental businesses. We consistently hear from attendees that they want more education, so...

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  • Risk Management

    New Report from IBHS Evaluates Building Codes in 18 Coastal States

    Tampa, Fla. (January 9, 2012) – The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) released a new report which provides an analysis of residential building codes in the 18 hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast.  Building codes are intended to increase the safety and integrity of structures, thereby reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from hurricanes and a wide range of other hazards. “Rating the States: An Assessment of Residential Building Codes and Enforcement Systems for Life Safety and Property Protection in Hurricane Prone Regions” is the first of its kind, state-by-state assessment of individual state performance in developing and promulgating a residential building code system, which uses modern building codes, coupled with strong enforcement related activities to...

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  • Resources

    Kubota Enters Consumer Rental Market, Partners with Compact Power Equipment Centers

    Kubota Tractor Corporation announced a strategic partnership with Compact Power Equipment Centers (CPEC) allowing it to offer select construction equipment for rent within various locations of The Home Depot Tool Rental. Since 2008, CPEC has provided customers with towable rental equipment for a variety of projects, which now includes Kubota’s K008-3 excavator and BX25 Tractor/loader-backhoe (TLB). The K008-3 and BX25 TLB are currently available in approximately 100 Home Depot locations nationwide including The Home Depot flagship store in Georgia, as well as stores in Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Florida and Mississippi. CPEC hopes to place Kubota equipment in each of its 280 current locations, with a 2012 expansion goal of more than 400 additional locations. “Our partnership with CPEC makes Kubota available to an entirely...

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  • Green Building

    Atlas Copco Receives International Acclaim for Innovation and Sustainability

    Atlas Copco has received international acclaim for its innovative and sustainable business practices. Recent honors include listings in Newsweek’s Green Rankings and Thomson Reuters’ Top 100 Global Innovators. “Since August of this year, Atlas Copco AB has been recognized by Newsweek, Thomson Reuters and Forbes for innovative and sustainable business practices, along with strengthening our position in a ranking of global industrial equipment manufacturers measured by the quality of the companies’ patent portfolios,” said Mark Cohen, president for Atlas Copco North America LLC. “These acknowledgements show that not only is it possible to be an environmental steward while operating a successful and innovative manufacturing company, but that our global leaders embrace and incorporate innovation and sustainability in everyday business practices on every level. Newsweek’s Green...

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  • Resources

    Defense Bill Includes at Least $400M for Colorado

    A defense bill signed by President Barack Obama includes more than $400 million for Colorado construction projects. Fort Carson is the biggest beneficiary, with nearly $286 million, including facilities for a new helicopter brigade. Obama signed the bill, despite expressing serious reservations about provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists. The bill includes at least $70 million for a building at Buckley Air Force Base for the National Security Agency, the clandestine eavesdropping service. Pueblo Chemical Depot will get $15.3 million to continue work on a facility to destroy 2,600 tons of mustard agent in obsolete shells. The Air Force Academy will get $13.4 million for an inspection station for large commercial vehicles entering the campus. The Army will get $13.6...

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  • Resources

    ASA Report: Texas Was State with Most Improved Public Policy Environment for Construction Subcontractors in 2011

    Construction subcontractors in Texas had a good year in 2011. Not only did the Texas economy suffer the effects of the “Great Recession” less than other states, but also legislators tackled many priority issues of the state’s subcontractors, according to The ASA Report: The Policy Environment in the States. The annual report published by the American Subcontractors Association shows that Texas increased from 29th overall to 10th overall among states, in terms of the report’s grading of the public policy environment for construction subcontractors. The report also shows that Alabama, California and Iowa made major gains in their rankings, thanks to subcontractor-friendly changes in their laws. “ASA members in Texas succeeded in driving legislative reforms in five major areas — electronic reverse auctions, payment bonds...

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  • Resources

    Private Construction Expected to Grow This Year

    A CNBC article stated that U.S. private construction is expected to grow this year for the first time since 2005, according to a report by investment firm AllianceBernstein, and will be an important driver of gross domestic product growth and job creation in the coming year, according to a report by investment firm AllianceBernstein.

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