Research and Markets: The Refuse Truck Industry in North America: Size ... - Business Wire (press release)

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7c7ca6/the_refuse_truck_i) has announced the addition of the "The Refuse Truck Industry in North America" report to their offering.

“The Refuse Truck Industry in North America”

The Refuse Truck Industry in North America: Size, segmentation, competition, growth and trends underlying the manufacture and market of front, rear and side loader refuse trucks and recycling trucks in North America

Household waste generation and its haulage have historically been viewed as recession-resilient activities. However recent studies indicate that households put out less waste for collection during an economic downturn, driven by the economics of recycling and reusing a portion of the waste which previously would have been set out for disposal, as well as encouragement from green initiatives actively promoted by community groups and governmental entities. Zero-waste (no waste sent to landfills) is a target set by many local governments. While this target is still quite some distance away, both waste haulers and refuse truck manufacturers are changing to accommodate this trend.

The refuse truck industry is cyclical in nature, albeit moderately so. With private haulers and local governments being the customers, curtailment of their buying power during a recessionary period negatively impacts demand for the refuse truck industry. Local governments and municipalities are hampered by shrinking budgets owing to lower tax collections, while waste haulers cut back on capital expenditures in the face of rising costs, increasing price pressures and lack of financing. Housing construction is the direct demand driver for waste hauling services, and with this segment being in the stranglehold of a severe recession for the past several years, waste haulers have not seen an increase in demand from new routes.

Despite the above-mentioned factors, the refuse truck industry has not witnessed a significant decline in demand. 2007 and 2008 were strong years for the industry; 2009 saw some decline, but the outlook remains positive.

Alternative fuel-powered refuse trucks are generating a lot of interest, and it is expected that such trucks will increasingly replace the ageing fleet of diesel-powered vehicles. The other area of interest is automation of refuse collection activity. Automation contributes not only towards significant reduction in the direct cost of refuse collection, but also works towards improved driver and operator safety and work conditions.

These and other issues are the subject of this succinct report from SpecialtyVehicles.net (SVN). The report can be put to immediate use for sales and market planning, M&A identification, competitive share analysis, alliances and technology transfer considerations

Key Topics Covered:

A. INTRODUCTION

B. SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

C. INDUSTRY CHALLENGES & MARKET OUTLOOK

D. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY

E. MARKET ANALYSIS

F. COMPANY PROFILES

Companies Mentioned:

Amrep Inc. Bridgeport Manufacturing, Inc. E-Z Pack Manufacturing LLC Edge Manufacturing, Inc. G&H Manufacturing Ltd GCI Environment Inc. GSP Marketing, Inc. Heil Environmental Kann Manufacturing Corporation Labrie Environmental Group Loadmaster Corp. Lodal Inc. McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing Pak-Mor Ltd. Pendpac, Inc. Scranton Manufacturing Co., Inc./New Way Shu-Pak Equipment, Inc. Universal Handling Equipment Co. Walinga Inc. Wayne Engineering

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7c7ca6/the_refuse_truck_i.

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If You've Been Laid Off, Or Might Be, Then Start a Small Business Now

The best time to start a small business is probably during a recession because the big boys are laying off people, and are less able to service would-be clients, whereas a new small business has almost no overheads to speak of, and can either take business away from the big guys, or get sub-contracted jobs from them.

And other big advantage is that a new and very small company has over the big guys is that if you make a mistake then it won't cost very much, whereas just imagine the cost involved in having to recall tens of thousands of cars, or appliances or whatever.

So if you've been laid off, or are already unemployed then this might be exactly the right time to start up a small business, and you might well have almost everything that's needed, and will only have to invest the smallest amount of cash to get things rolling.

And don't be overly concerned that the present economic climate means that it's not the right time to start something, because economic turn-downs most likely offer more pluses than minuses to those that want to start up something small but lucrative, and 92% of existing entrepreneurs say that they started their businesses without ever considering the economic climate.

When you first start out you'll more than likely be a one man or woman band, or be doing it with a family member or friend, and you won't be burdened by, enormous marketing fees and things like HR costs, and what's more, you'll be able to adapt to market changes much faster than the big boys.

There are a zillion businesses that you could start up, and which one you choose will depend on your talents, your available time and having the start up money involved, if any is needed.

It's highly preferable that you enjoy the thing that you're going to spend a lot of time doing, and hobbies are therefore always great things to turn into money making ventures.

Stamp collecting, coin collecting, antiques and first edition books or comics, are obvious ideas that spring to mind but there are there as many ideas as there are hobbies.

If you don't have a specialist hobby, or don't think you could make any meaningful money from the one you have, then the next requirement is that the business be based on something that you do well, or have a particular affinity for.

Nine Ideas For Small Businesses That Require Almost No Investment

1) Animals

If you like animals, then either having them in your home whilst the owner is away, or visiting the owners house to feed and walk them etc. can be very lucrative and the start up cost is next to zero, and should require nothing more than placing ads in local newspapers, or on trees.

* The NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters) says that in-home pet-care is one of the fastest growing industries in North America today.

2) Computer Repair

If you know how to repair computers then it's a sure-fire way to make money, because most people have no idea what to do when their computer won't start, they get a virus or can't get onto the Internet. There's hardly any profit in selling software, and not much more in selling hardware and the real profit is in repair which you can do at home or at the customer's house.

3) Selling On eBay

Related to #2 above is selling on eBay and it's good for people that feel comfortable working on computers, but you also need to have a good feel for market prices and to be able to spot a great deal and to be able to buy it fast. Lots of people now work full time on eBay and make a very good living from it.

4) Auto Repair

What happens during a recession is that people either hold onto their cars for longer than they normally would or they buy a used car, both of which are good news for somebody that knows how to fix cars.

If you're an enthusiast then you most likely have a lot of tools already, but it's likely that you'll need to buy more, and having a place to make the repairs will obviously need to be taken into consideration as your neighbors won't take kindly to changing their street into an auto repair shop.

5) Yard maintenance, Landscaping And Snow Clearing

Depending on the time of year and where you live, it's obviously possible to make money from mowing peoples' lawns and even real gardening and landscaping if you have a flare for it, and clearing snow in the winter is hard work but pays well, and none of the forgoing involve any real start up costs.

6) Heating, Air Conditioning And Appliance Repair

I've lumped the above three things together because someone that's good and doing one of them can probably do all of them and they're all good money makers. When a person's freezer or fridge breaks down and it's full of defrosting food then the owner is not going to quibble too much about the price of a quick repair, and the same goes for either a heating or air conditioning failure if the temperature is rising or dropping fast outside.

7) House Cleaning

Cleaning other people's houses might not sound like fun but where there's muck there's money, and it's no longer just the rich that hire somebody to clean once a week or month. Most people seem to have less and less free time rather than more and more, and if you really clean well, then you'll have a fast growing business and will most likely soon be hiring help.

8) Light Haulage

What I'm talking about here is not a moving company, but a business that transports things that won't fit into a regular car or that people don't want to put into their cars, like yard waste, trash or compost etc.

A simple ad in the local newspaper and maybe at the supermarket will soon get people calling you and the money's good, but you'll need a suitable vehicle and a cell phone.

9) A Local Delivery Service

Similar to #8 but for clean things that will fit into a local car, and quite a few people have been making good money from this recently, especially if you're willing to pick things up during regular shop hours and drop them off when people get home from work.

How you should handle the tax side of things is beyond the scope of this article, but it goes without saying that most of the money from all of the above ideas will be cash, and you should be able to make at least reasonable money from all them.

What's more, they would all be better that sitting at home unemployed, and they all offer the freedom of doing things in your own time, and not when you're told to do them.

[http://get-financial-help.org] is one of a small network of sites, and each has one interesting and very popular articles related to personal finance. The author has always been interested in economics and his love and enthusiasm of the subject come through strongly in his articles.