I left Houston in a flurry of snow – two to three inches on my day of departure. One of their earliest snows on record!
The trip through Dallas and Fort Worth was notable for the traffic on the roads and for the project signs that had the bid red letters “NOT HIRING”. There were very few projects that were recently undertaken from our route through the area. One or two larger projects had been enclosed, looking ready to finish.
I-35 through Oklahoma had some road construction that appeared to be ongoing and recent. Oklahoma’s I-35 does need the work. Into Kansas and Wichita, again, not much construction was observed.
There are a lot of similarities on this leg of the trip with the previous portions. It appears private spending is down considerably. Public money projects are the only game in town.
Virtually all of the people I talked with were highly skeptical of the ability of the federal government to ramp up any area of the economy with the stimulus spending. Yet they were optimistic that they will survive these times. Not all of the firms are seeing the extreme depth of the economic hard times. Most of the people are concerned about the higher costs that will be incurred by the proposals on cap and trade and the healthcare debacles being rammed through the House and Senate.
While on the road I received emails and information from several people around the country stating the conditions I encountered are very similar to where they operate. Private money is not spending. If there is construction spending it is with public money. Projects with public funds are of little to no lasting benefit. Competition is increasing, profits are down and it looks like 2010 will be worse.
Back in Omaha, after 31 nights, 3,500 miles, 430 gallons of diesel fuel, meetings in many cities and towns, I asked myself if this was a beneficial trip. For me, it is a resounding YES! It has nothing to do with the state of the economy – it sucks and we are being lied to by the politicians. It has everything to do with those in the construction industry. These people are hard working and business savvy. They know construction and are results oriented. They are optimists and survivors. They are the people that make this country and industry great!
