Masonry Magazine September 1979 Page. 12
THE
HEAVYWEIGHT
There it sits, a 15,000-pound, $40,000 construction machine called a rough terrain forklift. All day long it has worked hard at its job, supplying materials to bricklayers for a new highrise building. Now night has come and the forklift rests.
Two men driving a flatbed trailer approach the forklift. Swiftly, without wasted time or motion, they winch the machine onto the flatbed. Forklift, flatbed, and the two thieves then disappear forever into the night mists.
Next morning the distraught owner, a mason contractor, feverishly reports to the police that his new forklift has been stolen. "What's a forklift?" the desk sergeant asks. That's just the beginning of a very bad day for the mason contractor.
Reprinted with permission from the Journal of American Insurance, Winter 1978-79. 12 MASONRY/SEPTEMBER, 1979
Thefts and vandalism of heavy equipment from construction sites are reaching epidemic proportions, according to the Associated General Contractors of America and other groups. In 1977, the latest reporting year available, general contractor losses amounted to more than $722,000,000 in theft and vandalism. (See chart on page 16).
These figures, although huge, may be just the tip of the iceberg. For example, Houston currently holds the dubious honor of leading the nation's cities in heavy equipment theft-some 1,300 pieces of equipment, valued at more than $40 million-have been stolen over the last four years, says the Texas Heavy Equipment Rentals Association. Other cities are not far behind. Recovery rates