| Author | Message | ||
     Jim_Witt |
Since we have a diverse group of individuals here on the BBS, working throughout the U.S.A., I’d like to know what your work forecast looks like presently and projected for 2002 (or at least how you perceive it to be). For the last 5 weeks my hours have been cut down to 20 hours a week (2 days a week, 10 hours a day). In the last 12 weeks, I’ve been asked to take off a total of 3 solid weeks. Everything is on extremely shaky ground up until and including the month of April (with no projections available). Our projection for working “picking up” is “possibly late” in the fourth quarter. We have laid off 80% of our work force. Our work is primarily in design/fabrication for semi-conductor facilities and the pharmaceutical/bio-pharmaceutical industry. Work slow down, unemployment itself and facilities being moth-balled hasn’t been this low in the 33 years I’ve been involved with it. We provide services throughout the U.S. and overseas (if our other divisions are overloaded). Our primary jurisdiction (so to speak) in this division covers AZ. CA. NV. UT. CO. and NM. Our other divisions are in the same boat, including overseas divisions. No, I don’t think the world is coming to an end and no this isn’t a doom day posting. The semi-conductor and pharmaceutical industry will be with us forever. Work is indeed bad, like really bad for us, with nothing looking to bright for the short term. What'z your outlook for the next 10 months? S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| Aaron |
Our CEO is saying 4th Qtr, too. Q1 is looking really bad. I also work for a semiconductor company, somewhere between the 3rd and 5th largest in the world, depending on who's poll you believe. Some layoffs have happened but nowhere near 80%. Could be more before it's over. | ||
| Davegess |
I work for a small joint that makes absorbant material for industry. Socks and pads to absorb oil and water, as well as hand wipers. We sell to auto plants, foundrys machine shops etc. We are in the Milwaukee December, which is usually slow, was terrible. the whole last quater was slow but things have picked up significantly in the last few weeks. We are not setting any records but we arn't shutting down line for weekends, which we did twice in December. Don't know what this all means but perhaps we are seeing the turnaround starting? Dave | ||
| Rempss |
Guess we're the exception. I am in the construction trade in NW Ohio. I am an independant commercial, industrial and architectural lighting represenative. I deal directly with architects, electrical engineers and contractors. In the last 7 years November-April has been the slow season. We are all too busy, some smaller jobs are going un-bid by contractors. I first thought it was just the already spent money - schools, planned expansions etc. But after a while of discussing with customers new projects are springing all around. The industrial business is down a bit, we are part of the "automotive" belt, my sales area extends to about 20 minutes south of Detroit. Good luck to all, Jeff | ||
| Oldman |
just dropped my union card (carpenter's) last year. after 18 years got tired of the b.s. been working for a electrical union 8a contractor on goverment funding jobs doing the carpentry end and getting tired of this, put my resume together and looking for something that doesn't require alot of tools to carry around. would rather be riding my bike to work every day. | ||
| Sarodude |
I work for a sub-prime (imperfect credit) b2b (wholesale - Joe Schmoe must go through a broker) internet based mortgage company. We USED to be a regular, brick and mortar type joint up until a couple years back when we went (almost) totally to the web. Our business is booming. Being on the IT end of a viable web based company is kinda like being the guy that drives the cement mixer for a concrete contractor. My company is busy. I'm REAL busy. -Saro | ||
| Buelliedan |
Well, due to recent events my job is quite secure. For those of you that don't know me I'm in the US Army for the last 16 years. As you might imagine we have plenty to do right now and that doesn't look like it's going to change in the near future. My biggest worry is that it Iraq will once again be our focus and it will interfere with my retirement plans in 2005. | ||
| The Setta |
I work for a software firm and I am based out of Vancouver. I manage accounts for the state of CT, and upstate New York and Rhode Island. We make a database reporting tool, that is scalable to an Enterprise level. It was tough selling the few months after Sept 11th, but things have picked up and we are on pace for quarter-on-quarter growth again as we have been for over 10 consecutive quarters. My job is secure business wise, if I can keep hitting my quota!! The Setta | ||
| The Setta |
I work for a software firm and I am based out of Vancouver (Canada). I manage accounts for the state of CT, and upstate New York and Rhode Island. We make a database reporting tool, that is scalable to an Enterprise level. It was tough selling the few months after Sept 11th, but things have picked up and we are on pace for quarter-on-quarter growth again as we have been for over 10 consecutive quarters. My job is secure business wise, if I can keep hitting my quota!! The Setta | ||
| Reepicheep |
I am a software engineer for a fortune 500 consulting services company, our local branch in SW Ohio. December / Jan was just awful. Worst I have seen in a long time. Feb is picking up, but our placements are still often an hour drive away. Things are gradually gaining ground, but its slow hard work for our sales guys. Bill | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Thanks for the input so far and I appreciate the dialogue, but don't forget to answer my question (some haven't). Since we have a diverse group of individuals here on the BBS, working throughout the U.S.A., I’d like to know what your work forecast looks like presently and projected for 2002 (or at least how you perceive it to be). Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Saro: What percentage of people are borrowing money to pay off debt compared to business startup ventures etc.? Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| S2no1 |
Jim, In July I started my own company providing construction related engineering services and teseting. This is in Oklahoma and Central United States. Most if not all jobs and projects were delayed. Current projections from both the state and local govt. are as follows: 1. State DOT work will be down by 35% in 2002 compared to previous years. 2. Private construction projects are slowed and not coming out of the ground. Those related to IT work have been cancelled, even if under construction. No indication on when these projects are going to start again, if ever. 3. Current projection for public water/wastewater projects are to remain constant with some funding unapplied for (the State Board is actually marketing to get all of the funding used) 4. Major airport projects are delayed by 0.5 to 1.0 years. 5. Public education projects are going to be strong for the summer months. Had three RFP's this week for various project. Expect this to be a growth market. 6. Security and hardening projects are going to be a real boon. Check out MATOC/JOC contracts with the various COE locations. Currently over 180 Mil in IDIQ going out the door. 7. Design build work will continue on COE bases, however, remediation projects will be delayed by up to 12 months. Original projected growth for Oklahoma and surrounding states was 2.9 to 3.4 percent for 2002. With current budget shortfalls from dropping tax revenue this should be a loss of about 5%. Most providers of my services have dropped prices to build backlog. (Personally, this is a mistake. You should pick your poor employees and start laying off or downsizing.) Since we are new, have relatively low overhead and no corporate structure to feed, we can go much lower on some services set than most national firms. Overall, we anticipate that, with the exception of highway work and IT work, that construction will be back on pace in April or March. Many sub-contractors will drop out of the market due to the delays in project. Biggest real problem is getting paid. Cash flow is going to be a real problem. Most current thoughts are that we are at the bottom of the pool and moving back up. Problem is a lot of companies drowned besides Enron. Leaving small subs without getting paid. Caused some real problems. My sub drillers are really playing the blues right now. Arvel | ||
| Anonymous |
Work forecast for '02? hahahaha DAve USAF | ||
| Loki |
JW DOD contracting grinding to a halt, normal for this type of work though. We are just coming to the end of a cycle. Started laying off as sites finished up back in november. Now word is filtering down that some juicy stuff is coming around by late summer. Most of the guys that got axed will not return. Lots of retires and I can't wait for 8 months. I still got a job though, right up to the new round of contract releases. Loki | ||
| Tripper |
Electronics firm manufacturs test equipment for Avionics, PMR, Military Com. We are down 25%, competitors are down 40-60%. Our factory staff is on 32 hour week, but often are sent home early. Our military business is firming up. Thankfully we have a UK division and they are hitting the numbers through the US downturn. Lets be careful out there people. | ||
| S2no1 |
Tripper, Are you down because of cancelled commerical aircraft orders from Boeing, Mac, et.al? Loki, What type of DOD work? Guys, There is still lots of work out there, you just have to hunt for it more now. Two weeks ago only two firms proposed on a 12K contract with the DOD. Myelf and SAIC. I'm a five man shop, their a 5000 man shop. Where was everybody else? NOT LOOKING HARD ENOUGH!!! You always have to be marketing. ALL OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE BAD TIMES. What will really hurt is the computer/digital/semi-conductor market. I believe we have reached saturation and the market has matured. Basically that means that until their is a major technology change all of the people who want PC's/PalmPilots/CellPhone/etc. have them. That means a slow growth market with only replacment and upgrade. Arvel | ||
| Xgecko |
I work for the worlds largest canoe club. For the last 5 months I have spent, on average, two weeks of every month on the road...not all that bad though since all the extra money has gone into the Blast (just gotta figure out how to afford the Nallin Bigbore). Work isn't likely to let off as I am still the only qualified person who can travel. My expected transfer (Japan) was delayed until October so I can train my replacements. | ||
| Ara |
Like Bulliedan, Xgecko, and Anon, I work for the DOD but as a 24-year career civilian of the US Army. Due to the President's recent plus-up of the DOD budget, things in the defense world look rosey on the surface. The big projects like the Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 continue apace, however smaller projects are being axed to free up money to pay for the big ones. Some of the terminated projects are, or were, necessary to keep our young soldiers alive long enough to have kids of their own. So the big contractors are doing reasonably well, but smaller contractors and subcontractors are taking some hits. Of course this means that their employees are taking the hits, too. Russ | ||
| Oldman |
since i'm looking to change career's i have no forecast, just want to get out from dragging alot of tools around anymore. | ||
| Kevyn |
When the .coms went down a ripple severly affected the CATV industry and their upgrade plans which trickled across the subcontractor fields...ran out the door, never looked back and now work even harder(I had to reintroduce myself at the BRAG meeting...)in real estate. Sellers market big time! Ask what you want, they will pay for brick and mortar futures. Last quarter and first quarter have been good so far, a little slow, no signs of giving up. Good activity in the $100,000-250,000 range, slows accordingly beyond. Pray for stability and growth across the board for all aspects of the worlds most diverse economy. Thank you brothers and sisters protecting our great freedoms. We are waiting with open arms for your return. Be safe. | ||
| Court |
I work for an Electrical Contractor and am managing the electrical, tele/data and security for a new 48 story building in the center (42nd and Broadway) of Times Square in New York City. The project will go for 3 years and the construction enviroment in New York City has changed dramatically in the wake of the September 11th massacre. There are two challenges. First, finding the hundreds of thousands of SF of office space. Second, inducing companies to stay in Manhattan. (Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have just announced major moves to Westchester Co. and New Jersey). Although the Electrical and Communications fields are currently slow I sense that work is building up, just not being let at present pending an elevated comfort level. Security work, as Arvel alluded to, is incredible. I just submitted a $2.2M change order that was "price and proceed) (i.e. start ordering and working without waiting for further authroization) High Tech work will increase. (The elevators in the building will sense you entering the front door and your name will appear (ala Hertz Gold service) over the elevator car that will get you to your floor the quickest) In summary, I'm a bit nervous now with things in flux, but feel confident the long haul. Court (with Arvel envy as a veteran of 28 years of Highway Lighting/Traffic Signals and ITS work) | ||
| Sarodude |
JW- I haven't looked at the stats. However, there are all sorts of things driving the mortgage ORIGINATION business. People moving... Depressed economies cause people to pack up and move (check out tourist oriented places) - and possibly buy new digs when they get where they're going. Cha-ching. New loan. Refis... Rates are phenomenal. Cha-ching. New loan. Cash out / Debt consolidation. 7-ish percent of TAX DEDUCTIBLE interest sure beats what you lose on a credit card. Cha-ching. New loan. I'm no expert. However, this seems to be what's going on. As far as my job goes, I'm relatively immune to market fluctuations. I don't benefit when things are good. I also don't lose my job when they aren't. The company would have to be near death before the alleged 'core' IT group would start dropping. I know only 'cause we've been damned close. -Saro | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
I'll chime in for Higher Education administration in Ga. Low and mid-level positions are on hold or VERY rarely being filled; most promotions go nowhere; etc. High level admin positions are fairly plentiful and being filled. Budgets are being cut 3-5% next year, and may continue. Georgia's higher education is better off than most anyone else in the Southeast! I'm changing careers/jobs very shortly (as a mid-level person, I've been screwed over too many times to continue), where and what I end up doing is a good question...times will get interesting! But similar to Court, overall, I think things will be fine in the long term Neil Garretson X0.5 | ||
| Pilot |
Insight to the future,From and Australian point of view .I own an Auto Electrical store Battery World franchise .It will be eight years old in April.I have been in the trade over 20years, yes there are ups and downs, the township and district have this sense of gloom.But when you look at the big picture,new companies have moved to town, a local hardware store wants to build bigger premises and extra for speciality shops and my own business is kicking serious butt,we are experiencing great sales figures, the January just gone was one of the best.I have on order an XB9R,Toyota Echo(pick up on Thursday),have had on order since May 1994 a 100th anniversary Hardly Rideable,December January I took delivery of 2 Toyota pick ups,Battery unit sales grew 9 % in the 2nd year(2000) and another 23% in the third year(2001) .I can see positive things happening in our district.Finally in a newspaper column Money Matters by Noel Whittaker ,Sunday Mail Feb 24 2002.Remember that the Quakers were the most successful business people in Britain in the 19th century.The reason was that they operated from the three main tenets,which meant that their customers were always assured of a fair deal and returned to do more business.Secound, they kept meticulous up to date records so they always knew how their business was performing. Finally, they had a strong mentoring and networking system so there were always other people available when they needed advice.It's hard to think of three better principles on which to run a business. I believe that growth will continue to happen.We also need to stop looking for a quick profit on the stock market and get back to growth shares not overnight flash in the pans.Which when the fall take a lot of inexperienced people with them. The share market is back to its levels pre Sept11, this is a positive step so people should see it as such.(sorry if I have rambled however I just want to put forward my thoughts) | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Humm .... Looks like we only have about 15 or so people working on this site. S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| Spudman |
Working and lurking... I'm in the EDA industry, our software tools are used to design chips and systems. There were some cancled orders by companys that also had major layoffs. The people they laid off were the users of our tools. We still beat our Q1 numbers and plan to meet, not exceed, our Q2 goal. It was annonouced early on Q1 that there would be no review raises this year, bummer. CEO sent company wide vmail Monday stating these are "prudent and frugal times". Hiring is currently frozen for our division until the end of this quarter, kind of a wait and see strategy. We did have a Q1 RIF (reduction in force) but it was more of an excuse to remove some dead wood, less than 2% reduction. The product I'm responsible for is very popular. I see no imediate threat for myself or my team currently. No raises does suck, but I'm glad to have a stable income. We just moved into a brand new building, started before the souring of the economy. The company in general is very stable and poised for success when the economy turns up again. All indicators point to recovery in the 2nd half of this year. Were holding the line looking for the exit in this turn. When it comes we'll nail it. | ||
| Road_Thing |
Consolidation continues in the upstream oil & gas industry. Until last November, I was VP and general manager of the Houston office of a large (NYSE) independent oil & gas exploration & production company. Great job, good money, lots of fun and we were successful, finding significant new fields in 3 of the last 4 years. Maybe too successful-the producing assets discovered and developed by the teams working under me attracted the attention of an even bigger company with, shall we say, mixed results in the Texas exploration arena. You can guess the rest. Big company buys smaller company, and those fabled "corporate efficiencies" result in my being replaced by a couple of guys who have not yet demonstrated the ability to find their asses with both hands in a dark room, much less find profitable accumulations of oil & gas. However, there is a silver lining, in the form of a nifty little agreement between me and my former employer which provided for a decent severance payment in the event of a "change in control" of the company, which is exactly what occurred. So now I'm trying to put together a new company, and when I'm not doing that, I'm riding! Life is good. r-t (praying for a cold winter to run natural gas prices up again) ps-Anybody with a few million bucks laying around that wants to drill some wells should ping me off-line. | ||
| Jim_Witt |
I have several buds working in California on powerhouses. I was told 7 powerhouses were starting up and/or scheduled in Northern California for this year and down the road. Tonight I received a phone call from 1 of my friends currently working on one project. He was told that all powerhouses have been placed on hold due to some sort of financing problems due to the Enron collapse. Any East coasters know any specifics about this? If any of your are familiar with the huge super collider project that was scrapped in Texas a few years back (because of the red ant ordeal and a few other things) I was told tonight that it might be built in California now. Anyone heard any specifics? An inquiring mind wants to know, -JW:>) | ||
| Buellnuts |
Iron Worker Superintendant for Washington group int. (Formerly known as Morrison & Knudsen Corp) I have been on a Boeing site in Washington State for 12 years. 10 for a different comapany and 2 for the current one. We are uncertain about the forcast as Boeing is heading for union negotiations this year and typicaly they like to show a Bleak forecast just before the Talks. We are at an all time low right now and for the next year things are slow. Our state, states that there Broke and want to raise Gas taxed, and any other Tax they can raise to get out of a resession. Last year there was a surplus of over a Billion Dollars in the budget, now there Broke and know one has answers. (SUCKS) (Shifty bastards) Oh Well, I'm gunna hang in there 4 more years and retire at 46. Life is awesome! In The Rain Forest, Bob |
