A Look at 2025
Industrial construction projects, for example this plastics-recycling plant in Hebron, Ohio, are expected to help drive demand for cranes in 2025. ALL Crane Rental Corp. of Columbus, part of the ALL Family of Companies, is providing cranes, including this Manitowoc 21000 with 220 feet of boom and a MAX-ER attachment, for the project.( Photo courtesy of the ALL Family of Companies)
boom— which it is, growing at nearly three times the national rate— coldweather metro areas Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St. Paul are also growing fast.
Consequently, ALL branches in Orlando, Tampa and seeming outlier Milwaukee are seeing many of the same types of projects.
They consist of all the things communities need when an influx of people moves in: more housing, improved roads and bridges, upgraded power generation and more schools and medical facilities.
One thing you’ ll find in the Midwest that you won’ t in sunny Florida is data centers.
The cooler Midwest climate is more conducive to those multi-acre indoor computer hard-drive farms.
Dozens of them are being built in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Each of these massive jobs can command up to 100 cranes.
Also popular in the Midwest are distribution centers for e-tailers and production plants for fuel cell batteries.
Southern Ohio and its metro hub Columbus are booming for all these reasons, as well as proximity to higher education.
For example, three luffing tower cranes helped build a recently finished project that adds 800 beds to Ohio State University’ s Wexner Medical Center. A children’ s hospital is also now under construction on the campus.
The normally reliable Chicago area has, in 2024, felt how high interest rates can quiet towering construction projects.
However, the region is poised to come roaring back in the new year with an expansion to O’ Hare International Airport, highway corridors to its west, a new football stadium at Northwestern University and new warehouse and distribution construction downtown.
Indiana has been making infrastructure news for years due to the state’ s heavy investment in reimagining the highway system around its metropolitan hubs.
But the state has been booming in general, with many large projects in the residential, energy and technology markets.
Financier
Harry Fry, president, Harry Fry & Associates
With the 2024 presidential election behind us, we can all focus on the future and 2025. Predicting rates and lending trends is at best a guess by any person.
Even the most dedicated economists and bankers are purely speculating based on historical modeling and consumer confidence, so basically guessing as well.
Besides rates, the United States banks are still dealing with Basel III risk compliance, which tends to cause consumer and commercial lending to be somewhat restrictive.
However, with a business-oriented administration, although it may take time, there may be a shift away from the global requirements of Basel III in the U. S.
That shift may lead to greater availability of capital to meet consumer and commercial demands.
A business-oriented administration should provide a shift towards pro-growth business instead of defensive attitudes.
The anticipation of taxes being held at current rates or lowered, the potential of eliminating unnecessary regulations and lower fuel cost may be a catalyst to get projects rolling quickly.
This all leads to potential higher demand for equipment and thereby an increase in financing / leasing requests.
The lending / leasing industry is always partial to positive trends and likes to ride the wave.
The only caveat, with all the potential positive trends and attitude, is whether manufacturers can produce products in appropriate numbers to meet the demand.
Most manufacturers we speak with have issues obtaining workers and skilled labor.
This is the same issue for most, if not all businesses. Will they, or do they, have the personnel to meet increased demand?
Overall, we believe 2025 will show positive demand for equipment lending / leasing.
The“ experts” anticipate rates will
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