Common wisdom tells us that the economy is in poor shape and that the construction industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors. You would never know it, however, judging by the attendance and general mood at the 2008 CONEXPO/CON-AGG trade show in Las Vegas this week.

The CONEXPO/CON-AGG show is one of the largest construction and aggregates shows in the world, taking up over 2.2 million square feet of space and attracting a record of over 138,000 visitors researching and buying equipment from over 2,000 exhibitors.

Industry experts we spoke with suggested that there are a few areas of the construction sector, such as demolition and recycling, that reflect the broader worries about an economic slowdown.

Does the fact that so many people are here and willing to at least consider investing in new equipment show that despite some weakness, there’s an underlying optimism that a rebound is certain and that the companies that position themselves now to take advantage of it will be the ones that thrive when it arrives?

What are your thoughts? Can optimism cure the current economic situation? Can we pull ourselves out of a slump simply by wishing it so?

Did you attend CONEXPO/CON-AGG this year or in year’s past? If you are in the construction industry, is your company looking at buying new equipment now, or do you plan to wait until the economic storm passes?

Please share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Rate this Post:

Not at All Somewhat Moderately Highly Very Highly

Average (Not Rated)