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Uncertainty over government support could lead to a 'junk' status for the Dubai, UAE-based developer.

Voies Navigables de France (VNF), the public body that manages and develops the country's 6700 km-long waterway network, has released the tender to construct the Seine Nord Europe (SNE) Canal.

Hoctief's US subsidiary Flatiron has won a series of contracts totalling US$ 134 million for new highway and bridge construction in Utah, California and Colarado

JLG Industries made a US$49.1 million operating loss on sales of $249.2 million for the three months to 31 March. Sales were down 69% from the $813.1 million revenues of the same period in 2008 and the loss increases to $941.6 million with the inclusion of previously announced asset impairment charges of $892.5 made on JLG during the quarter.

Strabag’s order backlog grew +23% in 2008 to a record € 13,2 billion. Sales were up +24% to € 12,2 billion, up from € 9,8 billion in 2007, but pre-tax profits fell -14% to € 270 million, down from € 312 million the previous year.

Some 147300 jobs in the US construction industry were lost in March. Year-on-year employment was down -13.2% to 6.38 million jobs - a fall of 973000.

Manitou subsidiary Gehl in the US reached agreement with bank creditors on 16 April to withdraw the notice of debt repayment delivered on 31 March. That notice threatened the company's continued operations.

Cemex’s sales for the first quarter of 2009 were down -32% to US$ 3.7 billion, compared to US$ 5.4 billion for the same period last year. Operating profit fell -29% to US$ 326 million, down from US$ 461 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Sales by Harsco Infrastructure, the access services business of the Harsco Group, fell 25% to US$284 million in the first quarter of the year. Two thirds of the decline was the result of currency changes, while the remainder of the fall was the result of poorer performance, mainly in the UK SGB business.

German rental company HKL Baumaschinen has opened a new depot in Göppingen, its eighth depot in the Baden-Württemberg area in the south of Germany.

Hertz Equipment rental Corp (HERC) reported a 32% fall in revenues to US$279.5 million for the first three months of 2009 (a 27.5% fall in constant currency). Adjusted pre-tax profit for the first quarter of 2009 was $0.7 million, compared to $59.3 million in the same quarter in 2008.

ALEC, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group, has been awarded the AED 4.3 billion (US$ 1.17 billion) contract to build Concourse 3 at Dubai International Airport, according to a statement by the Dubai Aviation City Corporation.

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska is expected to give up his 25% stake in Strabag this week.

Heijmans has announced a restructuring plan that will see it focus on just the Netherlands plus the Belgian infrastructure market.

Japan's three largest construction equipment manufacturers expect sales to fall more than -20% this fiscal year. Operating profits are expected to halve again.

German tower crane producer Wolffkran has entered a partnership with construction equipment dealer Roots Group, based in the Middle East. The Roots Group will take over sales, rental and full consultancy services for Wolff cranes in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt

Net sales in the Terex Cranes segment for the first quarter of 2009 were down 28.9% (US$187.5 million) to $461.4 million on the same period of 2008

Cargotec's first quarter results for 2009 show its Hiab loader cranes division has been increasingly hit by the drop in construction and new truck sales. The group's other divisions, Kalmar and MacGregor, have also seen a tough three months

Revenues were down -15% for the year ending March 31 and a bigger fall is expected this year.