Listen to conventional wisdom of late and you'll be left wondering where exactly this year will take us. Experts have done their studies, Congress is doing its thing (or not) and the economic outlook is... good? Not phenomenal or outstanding, but definitely "positive."
Compare that to what we saw and heard when surrounded by our peers in recent tradeshow venues. The vibe and the message there was quite different. If you were among the thousands who attended any of the recent construction-related tradeshows - chiefly The Rental Show and Conexpo-Con/Agg - then you probably know what I'm talking about. Rental and construction professionals were simply stoked. There's no better word for it.
The American Rental Association kicked off its show with an official statement predicting good solid growth for the rental industry through 2020, but that was just the beginning. Attendees at both events showed up with a mission and when asked, many said they were excited about what 2017 might have in store. And most exhibitors seemed ecstatic about the buying activity.
Brad Boehler, president of Skyjack, summed the feeling up perfectly when he said, "Everybody's positive and everybody wants to buy equipment."
So where do we really stand? Do we go with tempered enthusiasm or unbridled optimism as our view for the near-term future? We all must decide that for ourselves but in the meantime, one thing seems evident and that is the power of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't think anyone - not even the experts - can really predict what President Trump might do with his time in office. To many of us, that's more than a bit scary. But if you choose to focus on how the prospect of a greater investment in infrastructure, a revised corporate tax code and a more relaxed stance on regulations is firing up business owners, I say let it ride. The economy has always been nothing if not a colossal leap of faith anyway. The more we believe in its success, the better chance we have of manifesting it.
No doubt there will be many roadblocks on that path to continued growth, and we must work to anticipate and prepare for them, but it sure is invigorating to witness genuine excitement in our industry and watch where that alone might take us.
