An Oregon man is lucky to be alive after a runaway saw blade struck the wall of a convenience store, moments after he walked inside. Surveillance footage shows Shane Reimche, 43, walking into the Quick Trip Market in Eugene, Oregon, on March 28, when a large concrete saw blade shoots across the parking lot from a nearby construction site. (Check out footage of the incident in the video below.) The blade lodged itself deep into the store’s wall, just inches away from the main entrance that Reimche had walked in seconds earlier. Reimche told OregonLive that as he approached the door, he hea ..read more

At the ARA Show in New Orleans in February, Equipment World caught up with Leandro Lecheta, CNH Industrial’s head of construction equipment for North America. Lecheta oversees both the Case Construction Equipment and New Holland Construction Equipment brands and the CNH Industrial Aftermarket Solutions business — the company’s parts and service organization. Below he shares his thoughts on the state of the industry, the possible impact of the presidential election, if more heavy machine launches are on the horizon, and where the company is placing its technology bets. CNH IndustrialEquipment W ..read more

After 2022, the construction industry’s deadliest year since 2005 for trench collapses, at least 18 more workers have died in trenches, according to online safety records and media reports. The deaths have been reported across the U.S., from Georgia to California, with the most common OSHA citation being failure to use proper cave-in protection – primarily, a trench box. Some states had more than one fatal collapse during that time. Oklahoma and New York each had three deaths since 2022. Texas and California each had two fatalities. (A brief description of each of the 18 fatalities is provided ..read more

Despite a stack of evidence to the contrary, Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu sees continued room for pessimism in his 2024 economic outlook. According to his forecast, a recession is forthcoming in very late 2024. Having maintained that pessimistic outlook for the past couple of years, Basu has acknowledged that he’s likely going to be wrong, much like he was in 2023. “There’s too much momentum for the economy, and until I see the stock market lose some of this value, there is so much wealth flowing in right now, the U.S. economy just cannot ..read more

Cat has unveiled “the largest track loader in the industry” with its new 973. Designed to clear, load, dig, carry, fill and more, the 65,901-pound do-it-all machine is powered by a 275-horsepower Cat C9.3B diesel engine. It replaces the 973K worldwide and joins the 160-horsepower 953 and 202-horsepower 963 in the Cat track loader line. Cat says the new machine is packed with upgrades, including better fuel efficiency, more productivity, an improved cab, and optional Payload technology. Inside the updated cab, operators will find a suspension seat with adjustable armrests/controls, a 10-inch to ..read more

Caterpillar’s PM300 series cold planers have been updated with multiple design enhancements designed to improve machine performance, operating comfort, and milling power.  The PM310, PM312, and PM313 cold planers are designed for small to medium-size applications where a more compact, maneuverable machine is required. These updates mark the third generation of this series since its debut in 2018.  According to Jameson Smieja, Caterpillar sales support consultant, there are more than 20 improvements overall. One of the changes was the integration with the Cat C9.3B engine, a ..read more

Skanska has expanded its use of zero-emission electric equipment on its project to extend a Los Angeles subway line, becoming one of the first in North America to deploy Hamm’s new battery-powered HD 12e VV compact roller. The company, which is part of the design-build team on the $2.9 billion Section 1 of the West Side Purple Line Extension, reports that it is operating one of the five pre-production models in North America of the tandem-drum vibratory compactor. It is among the first all-electric compactors to be used on an ongoing U.S. project, Skanska adds. Skanska was also among the first ..read more

After a den was accidentally destroyed, one unlucky bear cub took refuge in an excavator cab in Upstate New York on St. Patrick’s Day. The operator said he had been widening farm fields in Wilna, New York, when he inadvertently collapsed a bear den, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in a Facebook post on April 1. He noticed the cub and attempted to approach it, but the animal ran up the machine's tracks, climbed into the cab through the open excavator door, and hid between the seat and the wall of the cab. Environmental Conservation Police Officer Jarecki ..read more

Despite construction industry association objections, a new rule will take effect May 31 that will allow union representatives to accompany federal safety inspectors on non-union employers’ jobsites. The rule, issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is designed to clarify workers’ and employers’ rights to have representation during OSHA inspections on all jobsites, whether they are union or non-union. It says workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee third party. That third-party representative has been expanded t ..read more

February was not a great month for the construction industry, with total construction starts falling 8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.07 trillion, according to the Dodge Construction Network.  Per the latest report, non-residential building starts dropped 16%, while nonbuilding starts lost 3%, and residential starts fell by 2%.  On a 12-month rolling sum basis ending in February 2024, total construction starts were up 2% from year-over-year. This includes a 2% decline in nonresidential starts, a 4% decline in residential starts, and a 19% increase in nonbuilding sta ..read more