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Bye Bye 2009 & All Of Your Baggage
BMG wants to wish you a happy 2010! Thankfully, 2009 and all of its negativity have hit the road. Early indications are that 2010 will start bringing our industry better news and a more prosperous outcome. Here are some positive early indicators:
- 3,900 highway-related projects obligated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will start in 2010. In addition, about $4.8 billion of the highway-related funds still need to be obligated.(1)
- Residential construction of privately-owned and single-family housing both rose at least 5.3% in November ‘09 over October ’09.(2)
- Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased by 8.1% from the second quarter ’09 to the third quarter ’09.(3)
- The manufacturing index in December ’09 had the highest reading since April 2006 and has increased five straight months.(4)
- European manufacturing growth was the highest in 21 months, while Chinese manufacturing growth increased the most it has in the last five years.(5)
- Nonresidential water supply construction is up 9.7% and sewage and waste disposal construction was up 3.5% in November ’09 over October ’09.(6)
- New orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased 1.1% and orders for construction materials and supplies rose 0.9% in November ’09 over October ’09.(7)
BMG is also hopeful that the industry will see funds from a new highway bill and/or a second stimulus package. 2010 is starting off on the right foot and we look forward to helping grow your company as we move forward!
Sources: 1 U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; 2 U.S. Census Bureau; 3 Bureau of Labor Statistics; 4 Institute for Supply Management; 5 Bob Willis at Bloomberg.com; 6 U.S. Census Bureau; 7 Associated General Contractors of America.
Does Your Credit Card Work Overseas?
International credit card users beware. If you’re travelling outside of North America—say to bauma 2010—and plan to use your normal magnetic credit card, you may soon be turned down. Some countries now only accept credit cards with a special information chip.
A friend of BMG recently gave us two examples of difficulties he found in Europe. First, a woman in France tried to buy goods at a store, but her magnetic credit card and purchase attempt was denied. Second, anyone trying to buy from unmanned machines, such as train tickets or bicycle rental, either couldn’t buy a ticket or had to wait in a long line to talk with a person who could process the card.
BMG called the U.S. offices for American Express, MasterCard and VISA. They all felt confident that most magnetic credit card denials would take place at the unmanned machines mentioned, and that most places where an actual person is working would accept the transaction. We don’t recommend you take that chance however.
So what can you do? Call your credit card company and ask how to prevent these issues. In the U.S., American Express offers its “Blue” card with the necessary chip. Ironically, the chip isn’t available for gold and platinum members. In Montreal, Canada, some banks (not all) offer their VISA card with the chip. If these cards aren’t available, we recommend obtaining some of the appropriate currency from your bank before the trip. This may take a little time, so give them plenty of heads up. Happy traveling!
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