http://www.aem.org AEM Latest News en-us Copyright 2006 Association of Equipment Manufacturers. All Rights Reserved. Thu, 4 Dec 2008 17:13:29 GMT http://www.aem.org/Trends/Reports/AgAdvisor/index.asp November issue of AEM's Ag Executive Advisor. Inside you'll find information from AEM's 2009 Ag Equipment Outlook along with information on ag equipment depreciation, the new administration and what it will mean to agriculture, standards updates and manufacturing news items. - 12/4/2008 http://www.aem.org/Trends/CEIndex/index.asp The AEM Construction Equipment Revenues Trend Index charts the overall shipments/retail sales data reported into the association's statistical reporting programs, as a tool to help members better gauge industry activity and assess their own performance. - 11/19/2008 http://www.aem.org/Private/Trends/Econ/Indicators/2008/November/ The U.S. economy continues to weaken amid possibly the worst recession since the 1970s. The credit markets are essentially frozen, which is restricting consumer purchases. Indeed, preliminary third-quarter GDP figures show a 3.0 percent decline in consumer spending (seasonally adjusted annualized rate), the first decline since 1991 and the largest since 1980. - 11/17/2008 http://www.aem.org/News/Advisor/ Stories include: AEM testifies before House Small Business Committee; AEM provides funding to advance machinery standards development through SAE International; AEM delivers economic stimulus recommendations; Ag Equipment Council Executive Committee sets course for the future. - 11/11/2008 http://www.aem.org/Private/Trends/Econ/Dodge_Reports/Dodge_Report.asp?D=112 New construction starts fell 5% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $529.9 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. - 11/5/2008 http://www.aem.org/Private/Trends/Econ/Econ101/Econ101.asp?id=98 The U.S. economy, which has been weathering a Katrina-like onslaught of building intensity for over two years, appears to have finally succumbed and entered a recession. While the folks at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) are yet to officially call the downturn, we believe that the unwinding of the housing bubble, severe problems in the financial markets, oil price spikes last summer, sharp declines in equity prices, and, most recently, a virtual freeze-up in the credit markets have sapped the economy's last bit of resilience. - 11/4/2008 http://www.aem.org/Private/Trends/Rental/Rental_Advisor/index.asp In his 4th quarter state of the rental industry report, Dan Kaplan predicts that the U.S. economic downturn will have a major negative impact on the rental industry. - 11/3/2008 http://www.aem.org/GPP/RichardBrown/ The Chair of AEM's Small Enterprise Committee, Richard A. Brown, testified before the House Committee on Small Business on October 28, 2008. Brown is the President and COO of Krause Corporation, based in Hutchinson, Kansas. The hearing is on "Creating Opportunities for Small Businesses in an Economic Recovery." - 10/28/2008 http://www.aem.org/Trends/USAg/ The U.S. Ag Flash Report for September 2008 is now available for viewing. The report compares monthly data from the current and past year of the U.S. unit retail sales of two- and four-wheel drive tractors and self-propelled combines. - 10/10/2008 http://www.aem.org/Trends/CanAg/ The Canadian Ag Flash Report for September 2008 is now available for viewing. The report compares monthly data from the current and past year of the Canadian unit retail sales of two- and four-wheel drive tractors and self-propelled combines. - 10/10/2008