With the Shale Oil Boom Comes Another One Altogether

It’s a trend that’s seeing itself borne out time and again in cities and towns across America where shale oil has impacted the local economy for the better: with the steady output of new oil fields comes not only a corresponding need for new oil workers out at the well themselves, but also a need for energy company office workers in nearby cities. It’s one of the main reasons why the monthly rental cost of office space in cities close to these nearby shale formations is now at a three-year high. Case in point: Pittsburgh, PA, a Rust-Belt city known better in recent years for its steadily declining population, as well as the deterioration of its once all-powerful steel industry. For the first time in decades, the population trend seems to be headed in reverse. Jobs in the energy and technology centers abound in a city like Pittsburgh. But more importantly in terms of D.W. Lift Sales, the monthly rental cost of Pittsburgh-area office space has increased dramatically over the past several years. For the first time since 2000, Pittsburgh energy tenants are paying around $17.68/square foot, and the city has a vacancy rate well below the overall national average of 17.1%.
In short, all things point towards a building boom in regions where oil and gas have driven profits around. Thanks to our new Midwestern energy turnaround, a lot of good folks who’ve been hard-hit these past couple years are getting their lives and businesses back together.
The fact of the matter is, the Marcellus Shale Deposit now ranks as the most significant shale oil-producing formation in the United States, ahead even of the Bakken Shale Deposit in North Dakota. As a direct result, new oil wells have arisen overnight across eastern Ohio and western and central Pennsylvania; and suddenly there’s new office construction in cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Akron, and Erie, where Texas and Oklahoma oil and gas companies have set up shop by the score. All this new infrastructure and building activity is providing fresh jobs for construction companies and crews that have been hard-pressed since the Housing Bubble Crisis and Great Recession came to town in 2007.

It’s nice to say that things are looking up for our friends and regional business partners, and to truly mean it. There are good things afoot going on out there, and we at D.W. Lift Sales are proud to be playing a part in helping out. We offer top-of-the-line trucks and short trailers for hauling construction equipment and materials into these newly-jumping oilfields: Wabashes, Great Danes, and 36’ x 12’ trailers are all brand-leading ways of hauling materials to their new-found worksites. Likewise, we offer some of the foremost-leading trucks and trailers when it comes to regular office construction. Finally, we carry our fair share of tractor equipment – always a good thing when it comes to heavy-duty construction of new oil wells and rig sites. Basically, let us know how we can be of service! Call us or email us today to request a quote and/or additional information on how we can help your company participate in the greatest American oil boom of the past 50 years!

Solid Gains in Residential Construction Reported; More Predicted

The future, of course, remains unwritten. But if the current economic headwinds hold sway, it looks as though 2013 may well see a trend first spotted in 2012: the resurgence and rise of America’s once all-powerful residential construction industry. Despite all that nonsense last month about the fiscal cliff, construction employment nationwide rose by 30,000 new jobs – hardly the birth of a Golden Age, true, but not exactly shabby either. As Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Association of General Contractors of America puts it succinctly, “Resurgent demand for new housing construction and modest growth in private commercial construction are helping create some new construction jobs… Now that the threat of the fiscal cliff has been temporarily relieved, construction employment should continue to slowly rise in 2013.”

For the first time since the big, bad Housing Bubble crisis walloped us back in 2007, residential construction accounts for the largest share of new construction spending in the United States. The message seems obvious enough to be written on the wall, or in this case the blog: Housing is back. That means construction companies across the U.S.A. are going to need to do some solid reassessing and reinvestment when it comes to their workforce and their construction equipment. Luckily, DW Lift Sales is in top gear and ready to meet the new demands of the market. Since our bread-and-butter business is supplying heavy-duty transportation for construction companies and contractors, we have the ways and the means to accommodate pretty much any quote or work order you want to put our way. Both our new and used truck and trailer platforms are waiting for you to simply pick up your set of keys and put them to work. It’s what America needs right now more than anything, is good news. We at DW, for one, are here and ready to insure that good news stays put and remains good news.

Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts Update

While approximately $60 billion in relief aid has been earmarked to help the Tri-State Area recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the fact remains that things on the ground are hectic and harried. The funding that was promised to relieve the Tri-State has been delayed as a result of debates in both Houses of Congress, even as homeowners seek to rebuild and businesses seek to reopen along the flooded ruins of a shoreline. A lot of hard-working volunteers and little-known charity organizations have worked alongside FEMA and the Red Cross in getting people the food, shelter, clothing, and psychological relief they need. But all that’s just a bunch of temporary solutions. What we need is a concerted, multi-stage rebuilding effort on the part of private companies with the means and the skill-set to get things back up and running again.

We’re talking to you, construction industry of America. This tragedy should be a huge battle summons to the fact that our nation needs a heap of repairs and ongoing restoration effort. Already, we’re seeing the signal lights changing: for the first time since the Housing Bubble burst back in 2008, we’re seeing real growth in the construction sector of the U.S. economy. And while Hurricane Sandy proved a nightmare for those who lived through the worst of it, and for those (including insurance companies) who have to pick up the terrible tab in its aftermath, it’s up to somebody to lead the charge. If the government’s going to continue to dither about going full-force in its relief efforts, it’s up to private initiative and entrepreneurial spirit to get things rekindled.

How can we at DW Lift Sales help you out in this undertaking? One word for you: inventory. We have an inventory of 2013 Freightliner M2-106’s rearing to get into the action. Not only these, but we carry a serious number of knuckle booms, cranes, conveyors, and even tractors on our lot. When it comes to industrial-strength freighting, lifting, hauling, and rubble clearing, we have the equipment if you’ve got the drive to get it! Let’s get our East Coast back up and rolling. Contact us today with your quotes and queries.

Flatbeds Help the Real Estate Market Find Its Legs Again

When the Great Recession struck in 2007, there wasn’t an industry in America that took a harder punch than the real estate market. The “Housing Bubble” and its subsequent collapse became – overnight – a household word. It’s been a long several years now since those days of sudden economic collapse, and the nation is still struggling to rekindle its economy, the real estate sector included. But while growth remains slow, signs point towards a gradual improvement for even the housing and commercial real estate markets – and for the flatbed and dry van industry that means a corresponding uptick in business opportunities.

Flatbeds continue to be an integral part of the transportation of construction materials. Without the volume that flatbeds can carry, there would simply have been no cost-effective means of developing the sprawling suburbs and exurbs that surround most North American cities. But the housing market is just the “tip of the opportunity” for truckers and big rig companies. Despite June and July’s slow manufacturing growth (in comparison with the earlier months of this year), manufacturing orders are up considerably from just a year ago. While we’re certainly not out of the woods yet as a country, the numbers show that the growing need for trucking jobs in America attests to an overall spirit of optimism and recovery. Here’s to making it over the mountain. Knock on wood (or asphalt, as the case may be).

Depreciation Bonuses on Trucks, Trailers, and Forklifts: Grab ‘Em before 2013!

We’re a proud, family-run business in the heart of Ohio, and we’re here to give you this bit of advice, one small business to another: 2013 is looking to be another rough year; at least there’s the strong possibility. If the Executive and Legislative branches of government don’t settle their differences and come to some kind of agreement by the end of this year, there are going to be consequences for small business that nobody in his or her right mind – Republican, Democrat, You-Name-It – would want to see.

And you thought 2012 would be a pretty tough act to follow, huh? As it turns out, our nation may well decide to remain undecided on how to reduce its massive national debt by the end of this fiscal year. If that happens, come January 1, 2013, we’ll all wake up in our beds and find we’ve fallen off the so-called “fiscal cliff” everybody keeps talking about. That means mandatory tax increases across the board for American citizens and businesses alike. That means tax deduction policies that have helped businesses such as yours and ours throughout these last, few, trying years will be staunched and stifled.

Some of our nation’s best tax deduction small business incentives – specifically the Bonus and Section 179 depreciation deductions – are going to plummet this next year. And by plummet, we do unfortunately mean it. Currently, as things stand in 2012, the Section 179 deduction gives you up to $139,000 off equipment purchases intended for your business. That’s a pretty good deal by our reckoning, especially since this deduction is still applicable up to a ceiling of $560,000 in needed equipment purchases. That being said, if the worst comes to pass this New Year, that deduction incentive will suddenly find itself reduced to $25,000 – not exactly much in the way of stimulating your business and getting it up and growing, right? Well, what can we say? When you’re right, you’re right.

We have a fleet of trucks, forklifts, and flatbeds that are still available for purchase prior to 2013 – and that still come with 2012 depreciation deductible guidelines if purchased before the New Year. You name the make and model and we most likely have one (or several) on our lot. It’s up to you – the competitive entrepreneur – to seize the moment before it becomes too… bureaucratic. Call us right now, today.

Checking for Wear and Tear When Purchasing Your Truck

At DW Lift Sales, we’re confident that the trucks we supply, both the new ones and the used ones, have been spot-checked meticulously for any blemishes and/or mechanical errors. To put it another way, you know that when you buy trucks, trailers, or forklifts from us, you’re going to be getting your full dollar’s worth in terms of reliability. That being said, it’s always a wise bet when purchasing a truck – particularly a truck that’s already seen some roughage on the highway – to inspect it thoroughly to know what you’re “getting yourself into”. A lot of trucks out there might look nice and shiny on the sales lot, but as is the case with a lot of different things, it’s the inside that counts (i.e. the structural integrity, the driveline, the suspension system, stuff like that) when you’re going about your daily business.

On that note, we want to give you a couple of things to look out for when purchasing a truck (and the same things should also be checked periodically in terms of maintaining your truck):

1. Make sure the cab mount is well compromised with the proper bushings. Insure likewise that the cab is well isolated from the truck engine itself. Ignoring these things can mean you compromise the overall structural integrity of your cab mounts to a dangerous degree: you don’t want the front part of your truck to start grinding against the front tires – let alone get close to the engine.
2. A slight imbalance in the components of the driveline might not seem like a big problem upon first inspection, but don’t kid yourself. Given an especially bad angle, driveline imbalances can lead to impacting the performance of your truck’s transmission, not to mention the possibility of worn-and-torn wheel-ends. Be sure to inspect the assorted components of your driveline and note if they are aligned properly.
3. Here’s a huge one to look for: your truck’s suspension system. Your suspension system should isolate your cab from the main body of your truck, but don’t discount the long-term effects of road vibration or rough, gravelly terrain. If your truck’s been around the highway a few times, you’d best be checking that all components are structurally sound, as well as mounted rigidly. There’s no telling what happens otherwise!
4. Last, but hardly least, comes frame rigidity. You better be certain that the frame assembly (along with all its sundry cross-members) is structurally stiff. Otherwise, your trucking career may come crashing to a halt in a way that anyone would find unpleasant.

Just some helpful tips and guidelines from your friends out here at D.W. Lift Sales. Drop by our website or call us today for more info on the vehicles, platforms, and accessories we carry.

DW’s Heading to the Guardian Building Products Show in Vegas in 2013

It’s one of the biggest distribution materials conferences in America in any given year, and 2013’s Guardian Building Products Show in Las Vegas promises to be no exception. Companies from across North America and the world at large will descend upon the beautiful Paris Las Vegas Hotel to demonstrate their products, promote their services, and showcase the latest in insulation, gypsum, roofing, millwork, windows, doors, sheathing, hardware, plumbing, adhesives, and more: basically anything you’d ever want on your hands if you’re in the construction business. Seeing as the construction business is showing signs of recovery for the real time since 2007, we at DW Lift Sales expect there to be a more celebratory “feel” to the whole meet-up this year.

Basically, we can’t wait. Not only are we heading to beautiful sun-drenched Las Vegas, but being that we’re also significant players in the distribution and transportation of building materials both regionally and nationwide, we expect to meet some friendly faces. We’re looking forward to seeing people we already know and do good business with, as well as meeting up with new potential clients, customers, and forging alliances with strategic business partners.  Here’s to a great business year for 2013. See you there in Vegas! We promise you that we don’t cheat at cards AND that we’re friendly people to boot!