Plans to pump money into rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure could give Chattanooga-area companies that make machinery and materials a solid foundation for growth.
Caterpillar, with its heavy machinery, and construction materials company Vulcan Materials could see years of additional business as roads and bridges are rebuilt and buildings are modernized. The benefits would be even broader, impacting Sherwin- Williams, United Rentals and others that make, sell, or rent anything used for construction.
The Chattanooga-based Astec Industries, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of asphalt, concrete and milling plants and equipment used by road builders, is one of 15 publicly traded companies that Barron’s magazine has identified that would benefit most from the infrastructure package.
The plan also could give a boost to local factories, quarries and road builders in the Chattanooga area operated by such firms as Komatsu, Signal Mountain Cement, Vulcan Materials and Wright Brothers Construction.
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that a bipartisan agreement had been reached on a $953 billion infrastructure plan, which an analyst for the investment banking firm Stifel said “generates significant upside” for machinery, construction materials and rental companies.