When Mike Gearhart, president the manufacturing and life sciences group of Denver-based CH2M Hill Cos., touched down in Moscow on Sept. 15, he knew everything was about to change. “I popped on my Blackberry and saw that Lehman Brothers went into Chapter 11 and that Bank of America was buying Merrill Lynch. Things just went down from there,” he recalls. “Up until that point, we were far ahead of plan internationally. We’ll still finish the year ahead of plan, but the cancellations and all-stops are cutting into our backlog.”

对于像CH2M Hill这样的许多美国公司，国际业务一直是其投资组合中越来越多的一部分，因为他们一直跟随西方客户到全球的工作岗位。在俄罗斯，CH2M Hill最近在诸如粮食和饮料等基本商品的机会上融为一体，但是消费者的需求以及该国内的政治不确定性加剧了许多制造商的兴趣。

“If you look at the [foreign direct investment] in Russia, it’s completely dried up and stopped,” Gearheart says.

Perhaps the most dramatic collapses have been in the auto sector, where both U.S.-based and non-U.S. manufacturers are reporting massive double-digit sales drops. As executives from The Big Three wait to see if Congress will float nearly $25 billion in loans to them, cutbacks are under way. Shortly after announcing a two-month plant shutdown in Rayong, Thailand, GM put plans to build a $445-million diesel engine plant in that province on hold.

Japan’s Toyota recently cut its production in Thailand after its sales in the county fell by 21%. Ford and Mazda are currently building a $500-million expansion at a facility in Rayong for production of compact cars, but no project stoppages have been announced.

The auto market remains clouded as consumers continue to hold off on purchases, and construction firms are adapting.

“Right now, the auto sector is not a complete unknown in the sense that we know we’ll see significant shake-up in the industry over the next 12 months,” says Greg Kozicz, president of St. Louis-based Alberici Constructors. “What’s more unknown is what happens 12 months from now.”

在投资新项目之前，Kozicz说，他看到许多汽车新利18备用网址制造商及其供应商在等待哪些制造商生存的同时保留现金。他说：“最强大的人将生存，这对该行业的长期稳定应该有益。”

但是多年来可能不会感受到影响。Kozicz预计，2009年，Alberici的一流增长下降了10％，柔软度持续到次年。他补充说：“在2010年，我们将开始听到2011年将向我们提供的项目。”新利18备用网址

目前，该公司希望继续进行当前的工作。Alberici是一家计划在田纳西州查塔努加（Chattanooga）附近的1亿美元组装厂的建筑经理，预计将于2010年完成。

Given the slim prospects, Kozicz says Alberici expects to move some of its personnel into other sectors, such as infrastructure, until the auto market returns.

Shifting staff could prove a common theme among design and construction firms in the coming months. Tim Gelbar, president of London-based AMEC’s Power and Process Americas unit in Atlanta, says in light of the soft process market, AMEC expects to move more of its resources to the power market in 2009.

Gelbar表示，该公司希望在拥有现金的客户中建立案件，使建筑市场实际上可以利用其利益。

他说：“如果您的项目从业务角度有意义，并且确实可以使用资本，那么这可能是做一个项目的好时机。”“只要看设备和材料的价格即可。客户今天可以取得合理的积极价格。我们有一些客户要求提供有关他们是否应该构建的反馈。我希望有更多的电话。”

但是，改善商品的价格强调了材料生产商工作的公司之间的斗争。金属的主要生产商宣布了重大削减，包括将全球钢产量下降30％。11月，Nippon Steel宣布到3月份的两位数下降。Alcoa在2008年底加入了这一趋势，将产出削减了15％。

在化学市场中也可以看到类似的担忧。11月，德国化学巨头巴斯夫宣布将暂时关闭80种植物，并在全球另外100种植物中削减生产。

Despite the drastic drop-off in potential construction, some firms are finding other opportunities. The Netherlands-based Arcadis is focusing more of its efforts on compliance and operations issues within the chemical industry. Many companies are hiring firms to help them comply with the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances regulations [REACH], enacted in 2007, says Curt Cramer, executive vice president of environmental services at Arcadis. As a result, Cramer says his firm is pursuing more opportunities through its global product stewardship unit.

他说：“这不是酌情支出。”“如果公司想出口到欧盟，他们必须这样做。”

Even with cutbacks across most industries, many firms are hoping the green movement will continue its surge and drive construction projects. Solar-panel factories and the materials needed to produce them continue to hold some promise. Ir-ving, Texas-based Fluor Corp. is building a $1-billion polysilicon project in China for LDK Solar and expects to wrap up work in mid 2009.

7月，Fluor在一笔4.2亿美元的交易中打破了地面，以在新加坡建立新的太阳能板厂，该工厂计划于2010年完成。

Japanese firm Tokuyama Corp. awarded an engineering contract to Chiyoda Corp. of Japan in November to build a new polysilicon plant in Malaysia. The plant is expected to produce 3,000 tons of polysilicon when it opens in 2012.

Another ray of hope can be seen in the biotech and pharmaceutical markets. Although billion-dollar megaprojects, such as those rolled out in recent years by Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen, may be a thing of the past, companies are eyeing other opportunities.

Pasadena, Calif.-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. is providing engineering, procurement and construction management for an expansion of Genzyme’s biopharma fill/finish tableting plant in Waterford, Ireland. The project is scheduled to finish in 2009. Jacobs also is part of a team working with Ireland’s National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training to plan pilot-scale research laboratories and other educational facilities in Dublin.

In August, Perryville, N.J.,-based Foster Wheeler won a contract from Alcon Laboratories for a new 250,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in Tuas Biomedical Park in Singapore.

Skanska科学技术卓越中心的负责人Dean Poilluci表示，该公司的美国运营部门希望与欧洲在欧洲的欧洲同行合作，因为美国的制药公司考虑了整个大西洋的机会。来自美国和瑞典的Skanska团队以前曾在瑞典Strangnas建造的1.8亿美元生物技术设施合作。该项目计划于2009年完成。

“The opportunities we see are with the big U.S.-based companies that have an interest in European markets where we already have locations and can bring local knowledge,” Poilluci says.

Although investment in the pharmaceuticals sector has seen significant shifts in recent years, Poilluci doesn’t see the current global financial crisis having a significant impact. “If a pharma client has a product that’s ready to go and they need a facility, they won’t let the opportunity go by without retrofitting or building a new facility,” he says.

Fluor的制造和生命科学高级副总裁Ivor Harrington都同意，随着对药品的需求不断提前，许多生命科学公司“对金融危机都非常不受任何影响”。尽管过去的主要客户现在可能已经不在雷达屏幕上，但其他人正在出现。

他说：“在过去的几个月中，我们已经看到一些[公司]在2009年初可能发生的项目中浮出水面。”新利18备用网址“我们不是在谈论安进数十亿美元之类的东西，而是在3亿至5亿美元的范围内谈论。新利18备用网址这比我们两年前看到的要少得多，但比六个月前要好得多。”