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2020 Outboard Engine Sales Trends Report available

The first section of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) 2020 U.S. Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract, Outboard Engine Sales Trends, is now available. Outboard engine retail sales rose for the ninth consecutive year in 2020 to a total of 330,000 units, the highest annual sales volume in 20 years and up 18% compared to 2019. [...]

By |2021-02-16T10:47:14-06:00February 18, 2021|

Equipment and event rental revenues expected to grow in 2021

For the first time since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic adversely impacted the equipment and event rental industry last year, the latest American Rental Association (ARA) forecast calls for more positive growth in 2021 and beyond. The previous forecast, released on Nov. 12, 2020, projected a modest uptick of 0.3 percent in equipment and event rental [...]

By |2021-02-17T15:24:23-06:00February 17, 2021|

Multiple states unveil efforts to reduce single-use plastic

State legislators from nine states–California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington–recently announced a coordinated effort to establish single-use packaging reductions by holding producers responsible for the end-of-life management of plastic packaging, according to reporting from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Each measure follows the extended producer responsibility (EPR) model initiative [...]

By |2021-02-16T10:43:49-06:00February 17, 2021|

Key federal conservation program strengthened

The U.S. Department of the Interior has taken steps to strengthen the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) by revoking an order signed on November 9, 2020, that imposed restrictions to inhibit the availability of LWCF funding for federal land and water acquisitions. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been crucial to protecting public [...]

By |2021-02-19T14:47:06-06:00February 17, 2021|

Twenty-five states introduce transportation funding bills

State legislators in half the country introduced 61 transportation funding measures during January, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Investment Advocacy Center (ARTBA-TIAC). They are seeking to bridge construction and repair revenue shortfalls created by past failures to keep up with investment needs, economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and [...]

By |2021-02-16T14:58:06-06:00February 16, 2021|

ASTM International geosynthetics committee developing proposed vinyl sheet piling standard

ASTM International’s geosynthetics committee (D35) is developing a proposed standard that covers vinyl sheet piling used in marine and geotechnical fields for seawalls, retaining walls, flood walls, erosion control and pollution cutoff. According to ASTM member Steve Hargrave, innovation and engineering director at CMI Limited, the proposed standard (WK75165) will fill the need for a [...]

By |2021-02-12T14:21:37-06:00February 12, 2021|

NOAA and USM announce partnership on ocean study

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it has signed a 10-year agreement with the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to partner on ways to improve how uncrewed systems (UxS) are used to collect important ocean observation data and augment NOAA’s operational capabilities. UxS are sensor-equipped vehicles that operate autonomously or are remotely [...]

By |2021-02-09T09:54:37-06:00February 11, 2021|

Magazine article reviews COVID-19 impact on boating, other recreation

A recent article in the national lifestyle magazine/website, Men's Journal, titled "Our Outdoor World, One Year into Covid," covers the acceleration in the popularity of outdoor recreation, including boating, in the time of Covid-19. The article includes data and insights from the National Marine Manufacturers Association and looks back on learnings and trends from the [...]

By |2021-02-09T09:45:47-06:00February 9, 2021|

Gaston College developing Fiber Innovation Center

The Gaston County Board of Commissioners and Gaston College are working in partnership to transfer $5.3 million in funding for the addition of a new Fiber Innovation Center on the college’s Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, N.C.   The new Fiber Innovation Center (FIC) will be a facility expansion of the Kimbrell Campus and be a [...]

By |2021-02-08T12:23:05-06:00February 4, 2021|

Civil engineers to grade Texas’ infrastructure through virtual news conference, Feb. 10

The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will unveil its 2021 Texas Infrastructure Report Card Feb. 10, 2021, through a virtual news conference. The report analyzes 12 infrastructure categories pertinent to Texas: aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, energy, flood risk mitigation, levees, public parks and recreation, highways and roads, solid waste, transit, [...]

By |2021-02-04T14:17:56-06:00February 4, 2021|
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