Archive for November, 2009
The Economy
This is the first of a series of articles on the present state of the economic climate existing in the fire sprinkler industry that will enable our readers to “blog” a response.
Reports from the field are not encouraging and paint a very bleak picture going forward. The results of the contractor survey suggest that the present recession may be prolonged. The large inventory of residential and non-residential buildings may contribute significantly to the duration of this downturn. While most economists suggest that the general recession has bottomed out the recovery may be lengthy. Backlogs are being “chewed up” and new bookings in some areas are off dramatically from a year ago. Many jobs have been put on hold or canceled due to a lack of financing. Hopefully the six and half billion dollars in the latest federal stimulus package for school construction may help in the near term; however, the long range prospects for new non-residential construction are not good. Architects and specifying engineers have very little on the “boards” according to some of the “field” feedback we are receiving. Please take a few minutes to let us know if you are seeing anything that differs from this information.
John A. Viniello, President NFSA
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