Backhoe-loaders have been a time-honored tradition on construction sites for many years. But with the introduction of specialized equipment for digging and a greater diversity of attachments for loading, is the "king of digging" in danger of being dethroned?

Not according to experts at several construction equipment manufacturers. They indicate that sales of backhoe-loaders held relatively stable through the economic downturn, and actually increased in 2003 and 2004, despite the popularity boom of compact excavators and the availability of a broader range of attachments for skid-steer loaders.

"Backhoe-loaders remain one of the most versatile and productive pieces of equipment a contractor can put to work on a jobsite," says Rusty Schaefer, marketing manager, Case Construction Equipment. "We see Case loader-backhoes at work in virtually every application where construction equipment is used, including residential and commercial construction, roadbuilding, landscaping, demolition and scrap and materials handling."

In fact, Schaefer indicates that the overall market for backhoe-loaders is up by about one-third over last year. "Some other types of equipment, such as compact excavators, have seen even faster growth," he admits, "but this does not detract from the popularity of backhoe-loaders."

Bob Tyler, product marketing manager, backhoes at John Deere, agrees, noting, "There has been some substitution of backhoe-loaders with other machines such as skid steers and compact excavators, the latter of which have increased sales dramatically."