Focus On: Construction – May 2023

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America is Investing in Infrastructure

Building and rebuilding the US infrastructure is critical to our country’s economic growth and increasing our quality of life.Federal agencies and municipalities have been allocated hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years to fund an unprecedented variety of infrastructure projects:

$110 billion to improve road transportation
$73 billion to enhance the electrical grid
$65 billion to expand broadband networks
$42 billion to rebuild airports, ports and waterways
And much more…

And – as the country is ready to invest in infrastructure – so is Amur!

Whether your customers are prime contractors, specialized subcontractors, or other construction businesses seizing this opportunity – we are ready to provide fast, flexible finance solutions to help you close equipment sales for excavators, graders, cranes, concrete pumps, trenchers, you name it. You can rely on Amur for all of your construction equipment financing needs!

Amur’s Construction Finance Capabilities

  • Rates starting at 7.5% for Well Qualified Customers
  • Zero Down on New & Used Equipment
  • Ability to Finance Stand-Alone Attachments
  • Convenient Prepayment Options for Trade-Ups
  • Application-Only Programs Up to $1,000,000*
  • Full-Disclosure Transactions Up to $3,000,000*
  • Same-Day Funding
  • Up to 72 Month Term Available
  • US Based Customer Support

*Subject to applicable restrictions​
Contact your sales representative to find out more about
Amur’s market leading construction ​​​finance products.

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Daylight Saving Time Origins and Benefits

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History of Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins at 2:00 a.m. this Sunday, March 10. At this time, we will set the clocks forward, losing an hour an hour of sleep, but gaining an hour of sunlight the next evening.

DST was initially introduced during World War I as an attempt to conserve energy. It was reinstated during World War II for the same reason. Until the 1960’s, it was practiced by some states, but there was no federally regulated date for changing the clocks. DST became the national standard in 1966, when the federal government mandated that the entire country observe the time change. Now, every state changes the clocks on the same day, except Arizona and Hawaii which opt out of DST entirely.

The rationale for DST is to conserve energy by extending daylight later in the day, when people will be home and able to enjoy sunlight. Since the 1970’s, studies have shown that DST has little to no effect on energy usage.  However, DST maximizes the number of daylight hours that people can enjoy after a typical 9-5 work day. Some regions of the country like this so much that several states including Florida and California have proposed legislation to make DST a permanent time change.

Daylight Saving Time and Farming

It is a widely accepted myth that DST was created to benefit farmers, providing longer hours to work outdoors. In fact, the agriculture industry lobbied against DST as far back as 1919. The loss of the early morning daylight has negative effects on the typical farming operation such as changing the milking schedule on a dairy farm. Changing a cow’s daily milking routine by just an hour can have detrimental effects on overall milk production. 

Benefits of Daylight Saving on Businesses

While DST may be a strain on the agriculture industry, it has a more positive impact on the retail industry. With more daylight hours after work and school to shop, stores may benefit from the time change. People also tend to spend more time participating in outdoor activities, such as outdoor sports, hiking, and barbeque. In fact, according to the history channel, candy, golf, and barbeque are the three main lobby groups that have supported DST over the years. While golf and barbeque seem to go hand in hand with longer daylight hours, it is difficult to see a correlation between candy sales and daylight. In the 1980’s, the candy industry lobbied heavily to extend DST past Halloween. The rationale was with more sunlight for trick-or-treating, the candy industry expected an increase in candy sales. Their lobbying efforts eventually proved successful, with DST being extending through the first Sunday in November.

Impact of Daylight Savings Time on Many Industries

In conclusion, though the clocks may change by just one hour, DST influences many industries. Franchises and restaurant owners may extend their evening hours to accommodate more customers. Construction companies may need to shift their hours or expand their workforce to take advantage of the extra hours of sunlight. This year, as you change the clocks and look forward to eight months of extra sunlight, consider how your business may be affected by the time change, and how you can use DST to your advantage.   

Considerations for Buying Equipment | Equipment Funding Options

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Considerations for Making an Equipment Purchase

At AmurEF, we can finance new or used equipment, but there are many considerations that you must take into account before making an equipment purchase.

Buying Used Equipment

When buying used equipment from a dealer, we can finance titled or non-titled equipment. We can also finance titled equipment when you are buying it from a private party; however, we do not finance private party sales of non-titled equipment, as they can become quite complex to process. This is mainly due to the difficulty of finding out whether there are any pre-existing liens on that equipment (asset-specific or blanket) from another lender, which requires a lengthy and costly lien search. If the seller has other liens on the equipment, the prior lien holder can come knocking on our door demanding the equipment back.

Benefits of Used Equipment

Buying used equipment can have the same benefits as buying a used car; similarly, avoiding initial depreciation the minute the car is driven off the lot. Buying any equipment for your company is a significant investment and maximizing the use of your capital is always a smart business decision. Many customers can purchase several used pieces of equipment for the price of one new piece of equipment. For many young companies, this is an appropriate approach to help them receive all the equipment they need for their operations in a very cost-effective manner.

In general, well maintained used equipment holds its value when compared to new equipment. In some industries, older equipment is more advantageous as its engines or machinery may be easier to maintain lacking some of the newer computerized controls. For example, in the professional arborist industry a wood chipper will typically lose 20% of its value quickly and then 10% of its value every year after until the value starts to level off. A new $70,000 chipper may have a resale price of $50,000 two/three years later, but a used $45,000 chipper may still be worth $36,000 after the same period.

Benefits of New Equipment

New equipment does have several advantages. First impressions can make a huge impact in closing new business. A fleet of newer equipment can give customers confidence in your professionalism and help close business when compared to a competitor with trucks and equipment that are starting to show their age. Also, in some industries, there is an adage that old equipment is expensive equipment. You need to consider any potential downtime for unexpected repairs that may arise from owning older equipment with a questionable service history, as well as the availability of spare parts for older vintage units. The cost of this down time can make the decision to purchase newer equipment an easier one, especially if it means needing expensive rental equipment to replace the out of service items or just losing work due to equipment issues. Thus, always take your time working with the vendor or seller to understand the equipment’s history and condition.

New equipment can also make budgeting easier if there are service or warranty contracts that come with it. If you match the term of the lease or loan with the length of the warranty contract, it is easy to predict the cost of ownership over the term and avoid big repair bills later on, which can quickly erase your hard-earned profits.

The decision whether to get new or used equipment is an important one, and each situation is different. In general, however, new equipment will have higher upfront capital costs and lower long-term ownership costs; the opposite applies to used equipment. If you have any additional questions about AmurEF’s funding options for either new or used equipment, please don’t hesitate to call one of our representatives for help.

What should F&I Managers look for when choosing a Lending Partner’

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Choosing a Lender Partner

Finance and Insurance (F&I) Managers have one of the most important and difficult positions within a dealership.  This is predominately due to the amount of dependency the dealerships’ growth and income has on the finance department.  A typical day for the manager in a high-volume dealership may consist of maintaining a “finance pipeline” of more than 20 or 25 active deals, which may require as many as 3-5 daily touches to ensure they efficiently keep the equipment sale moving forward.

Obtaining Finance Approvals as an F&I Manager

In addition to managing the pipeline, it’s not uncommon for F&I Managers to be solicited by up to 3-5 lenders per week attempting to earn their business.  When this occurs, the F&I Manager must interview, review, assess and determine whether they would or could become a “lender-partner”.  The end-game with this exercise is to partner with the right kind of lenders that will make it possible for the dealership to obtain consistent and timely finance approvals in order to sell and move as much equipment as possible.

Lender Partner Considerations

Having worked with lenders and F&I Managers for more than 25 years, I believe the most important factors and questions an F&I Manager should ask and consider while choosing lending partners are:

  1. Are they reputable?  If I begin placing my customers with this lender, am I confident the lender will provide a level of service to my customer that reflects positively on both me and our dealership’s expectations?
  2. Are they consistent?  If I begin utilizing this lender as a primary source, am I confident its origination process will remain consistent, including adherence to credit guidelines, response times, pricing, loan documentation and funding timelines?
  3. Are they committed to our relationship?  In line with the above consistency concerns, if I begin building a steady book of quality business with this lender, am I confident it will remain committed to me?  Will it stay with me and the market in which I finance and be there for the long-haul?
  4. Are they efficient?  If I utilize this lender, am I confident the origination/funding process and staff will help me become more efficient and productive?
  5. Is customer service important to them?  When I utilize this lender, am I confident I can count on it to treat our mutual customer with the same level of respect we present?  Will they be valued in the same manner as we value them?
  6. Can I build a long-term relationship?  If I begin to utilize this lender, will I be able to consistently meet with its reps to develop solutions for on-going business needs as well as new areas?
  7. Do they have specialty products?  If I begin to utilize this lender, will it complement my suite of existing lenders by providing niche financing in one or more of my A, B, C or sub-prime Credit Tiers?

In conclusion, from an F&I Manager’s perspective, the lender partner must have experience in the specific industry being served, needs to provide a consistent and seamless process from beginning to end, and must understand the mutual value they offer our customers.

Amur Equipment Finance provides innovative service and solutions.

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When Amur Equipment Finance (AmurEF) approaches working with a contractor, it’s not about a simple one-and-done transaction. AmurEF is a nationally ranked independent equipment finance company – recognized as a top-10 player in 2017 – whose management team has more than 100 years of combined industry experience. In fact, AmurEF takes pride in its ability to leverage its industry and sector knowledge to provide clients with exceptional service as well as customized, yet competitive, financing solutions. These combined attributes are proving to be a successful formula for AmurEF. The benefit to its customers is clearly demonstrated by AmurEF’s robust growth over the last few years. AmurEF expects its 2018 year-end performance, including organic originations growth, to far exceed 2017 performance and to break into the top-five category of national independent equipment finance companies.

 

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