By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTGood news for carriers and logistics operators involved in transporting heavy construction equipment, power stations, and oil and gas projects worldwide. The long-term prospect for projects in these areas appears to be brightening. For one, the Freedonia Group, a market research organization based in Cleveland, Ohio, estimates that the $45.4 billion global mining equipment demand will rise 4.9 percent annually through 2013. Gains will be driven by rising demand for commodities such as iron ore and copper, and the ongoing thirst for energy sources such as coal. China will be the fastest growing market and the largest producer of mining equipment. According to a report entitled Global Construction 2020, published by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics, today’s global construction market—worth an estimated $7.5 trillion, will be worth an estimated $12.7 trillion by 2020 – a growth of 70 percent. The study predicts that emerging construction markets in Asia-Pacific will grow by an estimated 125 percent between 2009 and 2020. China will overtake the United States as the largest construction market globally by 2018 and by 2020 the construction market in China will be worth an estimated $2.4 trillion. In addition, India will overtake Japan by 2020 to become the third largest global construction market, and the world’s top ten construction markets by size today will change over the next decade as growth in emerging markets such as BRIC countries outpace developed countries. In fact, analysts predict that global markets in these segments are showing strong signs of life, a positive direction that began in the second half of 2010. That trend is expected to pick up speed throughout 2011. Analysts are especially noting an upturn in spending and orders reflecting rising demand for engineering and construction services worldwide, mainly in China, India, Australia and the Middle East. China has especially attracted attention. According to business research analysts at The Freedonia Group, construction expenditures are expected to increase 8.8 percent in China annually through 2011. They attribute this to China’s ever expanding domestic economy, continuing endeavors to upgrade infrastructure, sustained strength in foreign investment funding, healthy demand for Chinese manufactured goods, and further population and household growth will all work to drive construction market gains in China. Non-building construction expenditures are predicted to be the fastest growing sector, with expenditures climbing close to 10 percent annually in real terms through 2011. This increase is fueled primarily by the government’s efforts to modernize and expand China’s physical infrastructure. These efforts include plans to upgrade the nation’s rail system, to expand the national highway network—known as the “7918 Network”, and to enhance energy supplies through construction of new power plants such as the Xiluodu Hydropower Plant and the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station. Residential building construction activity is expected to advance over 8 percent annually through 2011, spurred by the government’s privatization of home ownership – the result of government reform efforts, which culminated in a 1998 decision to stop subsidizing apartments to public employees and to sell state-owned residential buildings. By 2016, privately owned housing will account for over 97 percent of all units. Demand in the United States and Europe is also expected to pick up as economic activity continues to recover. The reason, reports independent investment research firm Value Line, is governments in the United States and Western Europe are realizing the need to invest heavily in infrastructure improvements to keep up with countries in fast-growing Asia/Pacific markets. In addition, expansion projects that were put on hold during the economic downturn, may resume as the economy improves. Foster Wheeler Prospects Business activity at Foster Wheeler AG, a global