This week 100,000 people lost their job.
Accidents are not part of the slow down as i see it, in NY it is money. Financing for projects is dried up and all the job losses on Wall Streethas killed the real estate market. Some projects in the 50+ story hieght are now stopped at the foundation. Tower cranes are all going back to the yard instead of the next job as they have in the past boom years. It is going to get real rough.
Oshkosh Falls Most in 7 Months, Amends Covenants (Update2)
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By Elizabeth Campbell and Will Daley
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Oshkosh Corp., the Wisconsin-based maker of scissor lifts and military trucks, fell the most in seven months after saying it entered talks to amend its credit agreement amid weakening demand for construction equipment.
Below is the company that makes most of the telehandlers in the country, many of the man lifts, trucks, and truck bodies. I just saw some Lulls which are 57,000 plus go for 17,500 at the ripe age of 4 years old.
Oshkosh declined $3.29, or 30 percent, to $7.53 at 4:05 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest percentage drop since June 26. The stock has fallen 83 percent in the past 12 months.
Slowing orders at some divisions, including the access equipment unit that manufactures scissor lifts and aerial work platforms, make it likely Oshkosh may violate some covenants under its credit agreement in the second quarter. The company has entered talks with its lead banks to amend its credit agreement. Oshkosh predicted an amendment would be in place by March, and that it will incur higher interest costs.
“The debt covenant waivers will add significant fees and interest expenses,” Charles Brady, a Boston-based analyst with BMO Capital Markets with a “market perform” rating on the stock, wrote today in a note to investors. “We do not see a positive catalyst for the stock until debt covenants are renegotiated and profitability improves.”
Oshkosh said order activity “slowed more sharply” than it expected at the access equipment unit because of sagging worldwide construction markets.
“This near drought in demand is unprecedented and has really caused us to reassess near-term expectations for access equipment,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Bohn said today on a conference call.
Suspends Earnings Forecasts
The company also today said it withdrew its full-year earnings forecast and won’t issue new projections because demand for many products has become “increasingly volatile” along with fluctuating commodity prices and foreign currency exchange rates.
Oshkosh, which posted a fiscal first quarter net loss, said it cut the company’s workforce by an additional 7 percent. The company has now reduced its workforce by about 2,400, or 17 percent, spokeswoman Ann Stawski said today in an interview.
Moody’s Investors Service lowered Oshkosh’s rating two levels to B2, or five levels below investment grade, from Ba3, citing the company’s need to seek financial covenant relief.
“Oshkosh’s commercial segment, which produces vehicle bodies such as concrete mixers and waste removal trucks, is also being negatively impacted by softening demand for its products due to the economic slowdown in North America and Western Europe,” Moody’s said in a statement.
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services followed suit and lowered Oshkosh’s corporate credit rating two levels to B, or 5 levels below investment grade, from BB-.
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Campbell in Chicago at
Ecampbell13@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 29, 2009 16:41 EST