Ann: Full Year Results - Investor Presentation, page-144

"The good times have to roll for a few years before anyone would take a loan or dig in their own pocket to invest in equipment or plant."

@Nightmarez3k ,

In this context, an extract from MND's profit announcement today:

"In order to support the growth in the company's heavy lift crane services offering, and in particular its fixed plant maintenance and shutdown services contract with Fortescue Metals Group, the Company expanded its crane fleet, acquiring a number of all-terrain cranes ranging from 25 tonnes to 160 tonnes"

So, as you can see, it doesn't take much for new capacity to be added to the equipment hire industry, highlighting its low barriers to entry.

I have no doubt that BOL will be doing the same before long, as soon as its fleet is fully utilised.



PS. Presumably the irony is not lost on you that, had BOL not been forced, due to solvency issues, to sell off a large part of its fleet, and subsequently relocated the rest of it to the eastern states, it might have been able to put its WA-based fleet to use, instead of seeing new crane capacity enter a market which is ordinarily a very valuable one for heavy equipment rental companies.

Once again, it looks like BOL management has been zigging, when it should have been zagging.