Construction Forecast Issue Home

March 30, 2000

Most contractors researching, purchasing online

Journal staff

The majority of construction contractors already research and make purchases online, according to a recent survey conducted by the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association.

CIMA surveyed the membership of the Associated General Contractors, the national construction trade association, in late fall 1999 about their use of the Internet and World Wide Web.

The survey, which had a 20-percent response rate, shows that construction contractors are embracing the e-commerce revolution that is reshaping the American economy. Some 96 percent of respondents said they were connected to the Internet.

Research and buying tool

They’re doing more than just researching purchases online: 62 percent say they currently use the Internet for procurement, and 27 percent currently buy equipment online.

High speed connections

Contractors’ Internet connection speeds are relatively high, which means equipment manufacturers may be able to implement more bandwidth-intensive features on their websites.

More than 70 percent of the contractors report connection speeds of 56 Kbps or greater; 14 percent have ISDN connections and 7 percent have T1 connections. About 25 percent report that more than half of their employees are connected to the Internet.

The CIMA international trade group for construction equipment manufacturers and service providers conducted the survey of contractor Internet usage to help its members better understand the future business implications of e-commerce on the construction equipment industry.

The best sites are (ad) free

Machinerytrader.com avoids advertising banners to keep its site clutter-free and doesn't get too fancy with technology. Instead, the site serves information straight-up to buyers and sellers of heavy equipment.

Machinery Trader Publisher Marva Wasser said clarity is the key to creating an efficient, informative trade magazine -- printed or online.

In other words, consumers don't want to flip cluelessly through catalogs to find what they need, she said, nor do they want to fumble around on a confusing Web site. The information has to be accessible.

"We have a straightforward site with a 'cookie-cutter' design for each page so you don't have to re-educate yourself everytime you turn the page," she said.

At the site, registered users can access all the information available in the printed version, plus "for-sale" and "wanted" items submitted electronically. There is also a stolen machine database for reporting missing equipment, and hyperlinks that forward users to dealers' sites.

Wasser says that the site's biggest attractions are the want-ad section and auction results. However, the site doesn't serve machinery users alone. Banks and other lenders are also logging on to verify prices and get an idea of the going rate for equipment, she noted.

"It's amazing: at first we thought we were targeting a tiny niche, but people from a broad range of professions are contacting us," she said.

To avoid clutter, advertising banners are banned from the Web page, Wasser added. Although that company policy has caused Machinery Trader to decline significant advertising dollars, Wasser thinks the decision will help keep them in business in the long run.

"It's criminal what we've had to turn down in advertising money," she said. "But banners get in the way of the information, and we need to keep a clean site if we want to be online for the long haul."