A brand-new all-time high from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) may be making some investors start to doubt the markets. Even with new economic news that would usually give the index a boost, the Dow has wavered back and forth between highs and lows, with it currently resting at a 24-point loss just before 11 a.m. EDT.
Good news all around
Jobless claims are at a five-year low for the second week in a row, with the rolling four-week average below pre-recession levels for the first time. As businesses hold on to current employees to manage workload, firings have dropped. And while this is good news for the labor market, there is still a need for hiring to pick up. As we've seen in other reports recently, employers are holding off on hiring until economic conditions improve.
Wholesale inventories rose in March thanks to vehicles and machinery. The overall improvement was 0.4%, higher than the expected 0.3%, with cars and machinery improving by 1.2% as retailers stocked up on inventory for higher sales turnout. The news bolsters the fact that the economy did improve during the first three months of the year, after some have noticed a slowdown in recent weeks.
Best Food Companies To Watch For 2015: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)
First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Doug Ehrman]
While many precious-metals companies have been in a slump of late, there is one that belongs perpetually in your portfolio: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) . The company is not like other miners -- including Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) -- in that it has a unique business plan that insulates it against many of the vagaries of the mining business. Moreover, because silver will always have a significant industrial demand component, even with the heightened volatility you see in the silver market, maintaining exposure to silver is appropriate.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
In terms of individual companies, there are several good choices, but these can behave very differently. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) , for example, missed revenue expectations and beat earnings expectations in its last earnings release. But despite the beat, EPS shrank considerably from a year earlier on a GAAP basis. The stock has been fairly flat ever since. Conversely, First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) reported strong revenue growth and a small bump in profits, sending the stock higher since the announcement. First Majestic reported increased cash costs and tightening margins, largely driven by lower silver prices. Each of these companies faces pressure from increasing production costs and environmental concerns.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
Despite the weakness seen in precious metals a few weeks ago, silver has been relatively stable ever since mid-April, with the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV ) trading in a dollar-wide range ever since. With the presidents of the Chicago and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks��releasing conflicting statements, turmoil may be just around the corner. Miners like Pan American (NASDAQ: PAAS ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) are still facing operating challenges, while silver streaming darling Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) struggles as well.
Top 5 Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Dover Corp (DOV)
Dover Corporation (Dover), incorporated in 1947, manufactures a range of specialized products and components and also offers related services and consumables. The Company operates in four segments: Communication Technologies, Energy, Engineered Systems, and Printing & Identification. In July 2011, it acquired Sound Solutions from NXP Semiconductors N.V. In September 2011, the Company sold Crenlo, LLC and Paladin Brands of Cedar Rapids. In October 2011, the Company acquired Oil Lift Technology. In November 2011, it acquired Advansor A/S. In November 2011, the Company realigned into four business segments, which includes Communication Technologies, Energy, Engineered Systems and Printing & Identification. In December 2011, the Company sold Heil Trailer International. In March 2012, the Company acquired Maag Group (Maag).
Communication Technologies
Dover Communication Technologies is engaged in the design and manufacture of products and components in the communications, life sciences, aerospace/industrial, defense, and telecommunication/other markets. The Company�� Communication Technologies focuses on markets, such as life sciences, aerospace/industrial, defense and telecommunication/other. Communication Technologies��products are manufactured primarily in North America, Europe and Asia. Its businesses serves the communications market design, manufacture and assemble micro-acoustic audio input and output components for use principally in personal mobile handsets. Life sciences businesses serves the life sciences market manufacture advanced miniaturized receivers and electromechanical components for use in hearing aids, connectors for use in a variety of medical devices and bio processing applications, and specialized components for use in implantable devices and medical equipment. Its aerospace/industrial businesses serves the aerospace/industrial markets manufacture precision engineered components and aftermarket parts across a range of market applications. In the commerci! al aerospace market, its businesses design and manufacture specialty hydraulics, fasteners, bearings, switches and filters sold to both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and as aftermarket products. It also design and manufacture frequency control components, electromechanical switches, multi-layered capacitors, filters and quick disconnect couplings serving the general industrial markets. Its defense businesses serves the defense market manufacture specialty hydraulics, mechanical and frequency control communication components, serving shipboard applications, strategic mission critical parts on key Airborne programs and Command and Control communications. Its telecommunication/other businesses serves the telecommunication/other markets manufacture frequency control components for wired and wireless network base station communications that ensure precise signal timing and filters for non-interrupted access across high speed networks.
Energy
The Company�� Energy segment serves the oil, gas and power generation industries. It consists of lines of business, which include drilling, production and downstream. The drilling businesses serves the drilling market design and manufacture products, including long-lasting polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDCs) for applications in down-hole drilling tools and quartz pressure transducers and hybrid electronics used in down-hole tools and monitoring devices. Its production businesses serves the production market design and manufacture products and components that facilitate the extraction and movement of fuel from the ground, including steel sucker rods, down-hole rod pumps, progressive cavity pumps and drive systems, plunger lifts, and accessories used in artificial lift applications in oil and gas production; pressure, temperature and flow monitoring equipment used in oil and gas exploration and production applications, and control valves and instrumentation for oil and gas production. In addition, these businesses manufacture vario! us compre! ssor parts that are being used in the natural gas production, distribution and oil refining markets; and winches, hoists, gear drives, swing drives, auger drives, slewing ring bearings, hydraulic pump and electronic monitoring solutions for energy, infrastructure and recovery markets worldwide. Its downstream businesses serve the downstream market produce systems and products that support transportation and handling of fuel, hazardous liquids and dry-bulk commodities. Vehicle fuel dispensing products include conventional, vapor recovery, and clean energy (liquid petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas, and Hydrogen) nozzles, swivels and breakaways, as well as tank pressure management systems. Products manufactured for the transportation, storage and processing of hazardous liquid and dry-bulk commodities include relief valves, loading/unloading angle valves, rupture disc devices, actuator systems, level measurement gauges, swivel joints, butterfly valves, lined ball valves, aeration systems, industrial access ports, manholes, hatches, collars, weld rings and fill covers. In addition, it offer bearings, bearing isolators, seals and remote condition monitoring systems that are used for rotating machinery applications, such as turbo machinery, motors, generators and compressors used in energy, utility, marine and other industries.
Engineered Systems
Dover Engineered Systems is engaged in the fluids systems, refrigeration and food equipment, waste and recycling, and industrial markets. Dover Engineered Systems combines its engineering technology, product advantages, and applications to address market needs and requirements.
The Fluid Solutions platform designs and manufactures pumps, compressors, and chemical proportioning and dispensing products. The pumps and compressors are used to transfer liquid and bulk products and are sold to a wide variety of markets, including the refined fuels, LPG, pulp and paper, wastewater, food/sanitary, military, transportation and ! chemical ! process industries. The pumps include centrifugal, reciprocating (double diaphragm) and rotary pumps that are used in demanding and specialized fluid transfer process applications. The chemical portioning and dispensing systems are used to dilute and dispense concentrated cleaning chemicals and are sold to the food service, health care, supermarket, institutional, school, building service contractor and industrial markets. In addition, the platform manufactures copper-brazed compact heat exchangers, and designs software for heating and cooling substations. Fluid Solutions products are manufactured in the United States, South America, Asia and Europe. Its refrigeration and food equipment businesses manufacture refrigeration systems, refrigeration display cases, walk-in coolers and freezers, electrical distribution products and engineering services, commercial foodservice equipment, cook-chill production systems, custom food storage and preparation products, kitchen ventilation systems, conveyer systems, beverage can-making machinery, and packaging machines used for meat, poultry and other food products. The waste and recycling business in the solid waste management market provides products and services for the refuse collection industry and for on-site processing and compaction of trash and recyclable materials. Products are sold to municipal customers, national accounts and independent waste haulers through a network of distributors and directly in certain geographic areas. The Company also serves the vehicle service and industrial automation markets, providing a range of products and services that are utilized in vehicle services, maintenance, washing, repair and modification. The businesses in the industrial automation market provide a range of modular automation components including manual clamps, power clamps, rotary and linear mechanical indexers, conveyors, pick and place units, glove ports and manipulators as well as end-of-arm robotic grippers, slides and end effectors. These products serve a ra! nge of ma! rket, including food processing, packaging, paper processing, medical, electronic, automotive, nuclear, and general industrial products. These products are produced in the North America, Europe and Asia.
Printing & Identification
Dover Printing & Identification is a supplier of precision marking and coding, dispensing, printing, soldering, coating, inspection and testing equipment and related consumables and services. It provides its services in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), industrial, and electronics.
FMCG businesses serves this market primarily design and manufacture marking and coding products used for printing variable information, such as date codes and serial numbers on food, beverage, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical products. Its industrial products used by the industrial market are primarily marking and coding, bar code and portable printers, and fluid dispensing related products serving a number of industrial end markets, including aerospace, cable, military, material packaging, industrial assembly, and medical devices. Additional products include a range of marking solutions leveraged for secondary packaging, such as cartons and pallets for use in warehouse logistics operations, and bar code printers and portable printers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Dover (NYSE: DOV) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.50 per share on revenue of $2.31 billion.
The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $2.43 per share on revenue of $7.36 billion.
- [By Bob Ciura]
In the investing world, boring businesses don't get much attention. The financial media obsesses over the next hot stock, preferring to ignore the seemingly sleepy companies that generate reliable profits year after year. Some of the high-quality companies that fly under the radar are pure industrials, such as Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR ) , Dover� (NYSE: DOV ) , and Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW ) .
- [By Holly LaFon]
��Diversified machinery manufacturer Dover Corp. (DOV) responded favorably to renewed organic sales growth, improving margins, and an improved outlook for its Communications Technologies business.
Top 5 Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Blount International Inc (BLT)
Blount International, Inc. (Blount) is a global industrial company. The Company designs, manufactures, and markets equipment, replacement and component parts, and accessories for professionals and consumers. The Company operates in two segments: Forestry, Lawn, and Garden (FLAG) segment and Farm, Ranch, and Agriculture (FRAG). It also manufactures and markets such items to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) under private label brand names. The Company specializes in manufacturing cutting parts and equipment used in forestry, lawn and garden; farming, ranching, and agricultural, and construction applications. Blount also purchases products manufactured by other suppliers that are aligned with the markets it serves and markets them, under one of its brands, through its global sales and distribution network. Its products are sold in over 115 countries and approximately 63% of the Company�� sales were made outside of the United States during the year ended December 31, 2011. It has manufacturing operations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, China, France, and Mexico. In addition, it operates marketing, sales, and distribution centers in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
On March 1, 2011, through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Blount Netherlands B.V. (Blount B.V.), the Company acquired KOX GmbH and related companies (collectively KOX), a Germany-based direct-to-customer distributor of forestry-related replacement parts and accessories, primarily serving professional loggers and consumers in Europe. On August 5, 2011, through Blount Holdings France SAS, it acquired Finalame SA, which included PBL SAS and related companies (collectively PBL). On September 7, 2011, through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary SP Companies, Inc., the Company acquired GenWoods HoldCo, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Woods Equipment Company (collectively Woods/TISCO). Woods/TISCO is a manufacturer and marketer of tractor attachments, implements, and replacement parts, primarily for! the agriculture, ground maintenance, and construction end markets.
Forestry, Lawn, and Garden Segment
The FLAG segment, manufactures and markets cutting chain, guide bars, and drive sprockets for chain saw use, and lawnmower and edger blades for outdoor power equipment. The FLAG segment also purchases replacement parts and accessories from other manufacturers and markets them, primarily under its brands, to its FLAG customers through the Company�� global sales and distribution network. The FLAG segment includes the operations of the Company that has served the forestry, lawn, and garden markets, as well as Carlton, KOX, and a portion of the PBL business. Its Forestry Products are sold under the Oregon, Carlton, KOX, Tiger, and Windsor brands, as well as under private labels for some of its OEM customers. Manufactured product lines include a range of cutting chain, chain saw guide bars, and cutting chain drive sprockets used on portable gasoline and electric chain saws and on mechanical timber harvesting equipment. The Company also purchases and markets replacement parts and other accessories for the forestry market, including small chain saw engine replacement parts, safety equipment and clothing, lubricants, maintenance tools, hand tools, and other accessories used in forestry applications. In 2011, the Company marketed a line of cordless electric chain saws under the Oregon PowerNow brand.
Blount�� lawn and garden products are sold under the Oregon and PBL brand names, as well as private labels for some of its OEM customers. Manufactured product lines include lawnmower and edger cutting blades designed to fit a variety of machines and cutting conditions. It also purchases and markets various cutting attachments, replacement parts, and accessories for the lawn and garden market, such as cutting line for line trimmers, air filters, spark plugs, lubricants, wheels, belts, grass bags, maintenance tools, hand tools, and accessories to service the lawn and garde! n equipme! nt industry. Its FLAG products are sold under both its own brands and private labels to OEMs for use on new chain saws and lawn and garden equipment, and to professionals and consumers as replacement parts through distributors, dealers, direct sales companies, and mass merchants. During 2011, approximately 21% of the FLAG segment�� sales were to OEMs, with the remainder sold into the replacement market.
The Company competes with Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, Fisher Barton, Husqvarna, Jaekel, John Deere, MTD, Northern Tool, Rotary, Stens, Stihl and TriLink.
Farm, Ranch, and Agriculture Segment
The Company�� FRAG segment manufactures and markets attachments and implements for tractors in a variety of mowing, cutting, clearing, material handling, landscaping and grounds maintenance applications, as well as log splitters, post-hole diggers, self-propelled lawnmowers, attachments for off-highway construction equipment applications, and other general purpose tractor attachments. In addition, the FRAG segment manufactures a variety of attachment cutting blade parts. The FRAG segment also purchases replacement parts and accessories from other manufacturers that the Company markets to its FRAG customers through its sales and distribution network. The FRAG segment includes the operations of SpeeCo, Woods/TISCO, and a portion of the PBL business.
Its equipment and tractor attachment products are sold under the Alitec, CF, Gannon, Oregon, PowerPro, SpeeCo, WainRoy, and Woods brand names, as well as under private labels for some of its OEM and retail customers. Product lines include attachments for tractors in a variety of mowing, cutting, clearing, material handling, landscaping and grounds maintenance applications, as well as log splitters, post-hole diggers, self-propelled lawnmowers, snow blowers, attachments for off-highway construction equipment applications, and other general purpose tractor attachments. OEM and aftermarket parts are sold under the PBL, Sp! eeCo, TIS! CO, Tru-Power, Vintage Iron, and WoodsCare brand names, as well as under private labels for some of its OEM customers. The FRAG segment manufactures a variety of attachment cutting blade component parts sold to OEM customers for inclusion in original equipment, and as replacement parts. The FRAG segment also markets replacement parts and accessories purchased from other manufacturers, including tractor linkage, electrical, engine and hydraulic replacement parts, and other accessories used in the agriculture and construction equipment markets.
The Company competes with Alamo Group, Champion, Doosan, Dover, Great Plains, Hope Haven, John Deere, Koch Industries, MTD, Swisher, A&I, Herschel, Kondex, Rasspe, SMA and Sparex.
Concrete Cutting and Finishing Products
The Company operates a business in the specialized concrete cutting and finishing market. These products are sold primarily under the ICS brand. The principal product is a diamond-segmented chain, which is used on gasoline and hydraulic powered concrete cutting saws and equipment. It also markets and distributes gasoline and hydraulic powered concrete cutting chain saws to its customers, which include contactors, rental equipment companies, and construction equipment dealers primarily in the United States and Europe. The power heads for these saws are manufactured by a third party.
The Company competes with Husqvarna and Stihl.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Corinne Gretler]
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BLT) rose 4.1 percent to 1,950.5 pence after the world�� largest mining company upgraded its projection for full-year iron-ore production to 212 million tons from its earlier forecast of 207 million tons.
- [By Caroline Bennett]
Blount (NYSE: BLT ) took a few hits in this quarter's earnings report, which was released today. Sales were down 1% compared to Q3 2012, to $230.6 million, and the replacement parts manufacturer also took a $5.1 million restructuring charge for consolidating two facilities in Portland, Ore.
- [By Corinne Gretler]
BHP Billiton (BLT) dropped 3.4 percent to 1,779 pence. Output of iron ore, its biggest earner, was 40.2 million metric tons in the three months to March 31, missing the median estimate of 42.3 million tons in a Bloomberg survey.
Top 5 Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Lindsay Corp (LNN)
Lindsay Corporation incorporated on January 7, 1974, is a provider of range of water management and road infrastructure products and services. The Company operates in two segments: Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Company�� irrigation segment includes the manufacture and marketing of center pivot, lateral move, and hose reel irrigation systems, which are used principally in the agricultural industry. The irrigation segment also manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets. The Company�� infrastructure segment includes the manufacture and marketing of moveable barriers, specialty barriers, crash cushions and end terminals, road marking and road safety equipment, large diameter steel tubing, railroad signals and structures, and outsourced manufacturing services. The Company�� principal infrastructure manufacturing facilities are located in Rio Vista, California, Milan, Italy, and Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Claude Laval Corp.
Irrigation Segment
The Company manufactures and markets its center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems in the United States and internationally under its Zimmatic brand. The Company also manufactures and markets separate lines of center pivot and lateral move irrigation equipment for use on smaller fields under its Greenfield and hose reel travelers under the Perrot and Greenfield brands in Europe and South Africa. The Company also produces or markets irrigation controls, chemical injection systems and remote monitoring and control systems, which it sells under its GrowSmart brand. In addition to whole systems, the Company manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls. The Company also designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and! controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets.
The Company�� irrigation systems are primarily of the standard sized center pivot type, with a small portion of its products consisting of the lateral move type. Both are automatic, continuous move systems consisting of sprinklers mounted on a water carrying pipeline, which is supported approximately 11 feet off the ground by a truss system suspended between moving towers. The Company also manufactures and distributes mini-pivots and hose reel travelers. The Company also markets pivot monitoring and control systems, which include remote telemetry and a Web or personal computer-hosted data acquisition and monitoring application. These systems allow growers to monitor their pivot system, accumulate data on the operation of the system, and control the pivot from a remote location by logging onto an Internet Website. The pivot monitoring and control systems are marketed under the GrowSmart brand and product name FieldNET.
In the United States, the Company sells its irrigation systems, including Zimmatic, to over 200 independent dealer locations, who resell to their customer, the farmer. Dealers assess their customer�� requirements, assemble and erect the system in the field, and provide additional system components, primarily relating to water supply (wells, pumps, pipes) and electrical supply (on-site generation or hook-up to power lines). Lindsay dealers generally are local agribusinesses, many of which also deal in related products, such as well drilling and water pump equipment, farm implements, grain handling and storage systems, and farm structures. The Company has production and sales operations in France, Brazil and China, as well as distribution and sales operations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and sales operations in Central America and the Middle East serving the European, South American, Chinese, African, Australian, New Zealand, Central American and Middle Eastern markets, respect! ively.
Infrastructure Segment
The Company�� Quickchange Moveable Barrier (QMB) system consists of three parts: T-shaped concrete barriers that are connected to form a continuous wall; a Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM), capable of moving the barrier laterally across the pavement, and the variable length barriers necessary for accommodating curves. The BTM employs an inverted S-shaped conveyor mechanism that lifts the barrier, moving it laterally before setting it back on the roadway surface. The QMB system is useful in busy commuter corridors and at choke points, such as bridges and tunnels. QMB systems can also be deployed at roadway or roadside construction. The Company offers a range of equipment lease options for QMB systems and BTM equipment used in construction applications.
The Company offers a line of redirective and non-redirective crash cushions, which are at locations, such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles and other fixed roadway hazards. The Company�� primary crash cushion products cover a range of lengths, widths, speed capacities and application accessories and include brand names, such as TAU, Universal TAU-II, TAU-B_NR, ABSORB 350 and Walt. In addition to these products the Company also offers guardrail end terminal products such as the X-Tension and TESI systems. The Company also offers specialty barrier products, such as the SAB, ArmorGuard, PaveGuard and DR46 portable barrier and/or barrier gate systems. The gates are generally used to create openings in barrier walls of various types for both construction and incident management purposes. The DR46 is an energy absorbing barrier to shield motorcyclists from impacting guardrail posts.
The Company offers preformed tape and a line of road safety accessory products. The preformed tape is used primarily in temporary applications, such as markings for work zones, street crossings, and road center lines or boundaries. The road s! afety equ! ipment consists of plastic and rubber products used for delineation, slowing traffic, and signaling. The Company also manages a testing laboratory, Safe Technologies, Inc., that performs testing of safety products. The Company�� Diversified Manufacturing and Tubing business unit (Diversified Manufacturing) manufactures and markets large diameter steel tubing and railroad signals and structures, and provides outsourced manufacturing and production services for other companies. The Company�� customer base includes certain industrial companies and railroads. The Company�� primary infrastructure market includes moveable concrete barriers, delineation systems, guardrails and similar protective equipment. The United States roadway infrastructure market includes projects, such as new roadway construction, bridges, tunnels, maintenance and resurfacing, and the purchase of rights-of-way for roadway expansion and development of technologies for relief of roadway congestion.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mike the PhD]
Historically the stock prices of Deere (DE) and other agricultural equipment firms and retailers like Case-New Holland (CNH), Titan Machinery (TITN), AGCO (AGCO), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Valmont (VAL), and Lindsay (LNN) have tended to closely track the price of corn. When corn prices go up, farmers tend to make more money, and they spend that money on new equipment from Deere and other firms. This relationship is especially strong for Deere and Corn, but it holds true for all of the stocks above to some extent. (Correlation coefficients between all of the stock prices above and corn are statistically significant to at least the 5% level, see my blog here for more details.)
- [By John Kell var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(func]
Lindsay Corp.(LNN) said fiscal second-quarter revenue and earnings fell as the company’s irrigation business remains mired in a sales slump. The company’s results underperformed Wall Street expectations.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Lindsay (NYSE: LNN) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.91 per share on revenue of $155.68 million.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $2.71 billion.
- [By Jacob Roche]
In 2008, only about 14% of cropland in the U.S. was irrigated, and less than half of that was done with high-efficiency center pivot systems, like the kind Valmont and its competitor Lindsay (NYSE: LNN ) sell, so farmers have been scrambling to upgrade their equipment to deal with increasingly bad weather. This presents a big opportunity for Valmont, which gets about 28% of sales from irrigation equipment. The opportunity is even bigger for Lindsay, which gets about two-thirds of its sales from irrigation equipment.
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