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The DispatchThis Newsletter, May 2009
In This Issue:
- ACPA Spring Board Meeting Pictures
- A Hopeful Snapshot of Industry Performance
- Holy Cr@p! Self-Healing Concrete!
ACPA Spring Board Meeting Pictures
The ACPA Spring Board meeting was held on May 15 & 16 in Washington D.C. These meetings are open to any association member and this one was attended by pumpers from across the country with fleets of all sizes. The manufacturers also attend these meetings so it's an excellent place to meet manufacturers as well.
During this meeting a lot of discussion was about the fuel tax – specifically how to lower it so YOU can save some money! Some members went to "The Hill" to meet with their reps and discuss the issue. The committee meetings were bustling with activity that's too detailed to document here. Contact the ACPA for more info.
You can see pictures from the spring board meeting here.
Please check out the next board meeting Sept 23-24 so YOU can help shape our industry (and learn a thing or two).
Don't forget: The ACPA Education Conference is ON! Be there September 25-26, 2009 in Westminster, CO (Denver area)
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
We've pulled the average number of boom pump pours per month out of our system for our North American customers to see how this year is shaping up against last year.
While is is likely no surprise that the work being done overall is lower than last year, pumpers must have been surprised this year when, in March, the seasonal rebound didn't happen.
Fortunately, it looks like the rebound started in April. Even better, it looks like the rebound from March to May of this year is slightly higher than the February to April rebound of last year. So while the rebound is delayed, in relative terms, the increase is slightly higher (24.1% in 2008 vs 24.8% in 2009). We'll keep an eye on this to see how things progress.
If this sort of information is helpful to you, let us know. Obviously, this is just a subset of the industry's data, but we can work to include more data like this in future newsletters. Drop us a line or give us a call!
Concrete More Resilient Than the Economy!
Photograph courtesy Nicole Casal Moore/University of Michigan
A new concrete composite being delveoped by the University of Michigan Ann Arbor mends itself! From the article:
Traditional concrete is brittle and is easily fractured during an earthquake or by overuse.
By contrast, the new concrete composite can bend into a U-shape without breaking. When strained, the material forms hairline cracks, which auto-seal after a few days of light rain.
Dry material exposed by the cracks reacts with rainwater and carbon dioxide in the air to form "scars" of calcium carbonate, a strong compound found naturally in seashells, said study co-author Victor Li of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The flexible material is just as strong after it heals, the study authors report.
It seems every couple of years there's some news about technology like this which pops up. What's the most interesting concrete you've pumped?
Read the rest of the article at National Geographic.
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