This has been a year of rapid changes, to grossly understate the events of 2020. By the end of the first quarter, the emergent coronavirus pandemic had triggered a global economic shutdown, which devastated consumer markets and much of the B2B services subsector. The national health and economic disaster has impacted small, medium-sized, and larger businesses, including causing significant losses for many commercial power sweeping companies across the United States. On the upside, many other sweeping businesses, especially industrial, construction sites, and municipal street sweeping services have remained relatively unaffected, and some report very strong performance throughout 2020 to-date.
L
ooking back at 2020 and the unusual challenges the
7.4 percent in Q3 over Q2 this year, and has been growing
coronavirus imposed on the industry, and looking
at an annual rate of 33.1 percent. According to the WSJ
forward to 2021, North American Sweeper magazine has
report, the U.S. has regained around two-thirds of this
reached out to power sweeping equipment manufacturers
year’s earlier losses caused by the pandemic.
and financial services providers that support entrepreneurs
Although GDP has risen sharply from the early period of
in the industry and sweeper service business owners for
the shutdown, the economy is around 3.5% smaller at this
their insights gained from the events of 2020 and their
point than it was at the end of 2019 (when adjusted for
expectations for 2021.
inflation). But, the U.S. Department of the Treasury reports
2020 GAINS, LOSSES, AND LESSONS, AND 2021 PREDICTIONS
(October 16, 2020) that retails sales hit a new record high in
In March of this year, the COVID-19 virus emerged, causing
percent higher than the same month in 2019.
retail businesses, manufacturing, services, academic
September, over 200 percent higher than predicted and 5.4 Fortunately, even during the worst of the economic
facilities, and any other entities with operations involving
shutdown period, power sweeping businesses in many
face-to-face human interaction to shut down. Businesses
areas, due to being deemed as essential services,
in their supply chains shut down in the domino effect that
experienced very little if any reduction in revenues. One
ensued.
company reports having its best year in construction
(October 29, 2020) But, the economy has returned to a
sweeping services in the company’s long history. But, many
large extent over recent months. The Wall Street Journal
others experienced deep losses during the early months of
reports that the national economy grew at a record rate of
the shutdown.
1 6 NORTH AMERIC AN S WE E P E R NO V EM BER 2020
Vi si t Us
