The company said its backlog of orders at March 31, 2009, was $140 million, which made for a 49% decrease on the $275 million backlog at March 31, 2008.Astec said its US domestic sales accounted for 64% and international sales for 36% of revenue during the first quarter of 2009, compared to 65% for domestic sales and 35% for international sales during the corresponding period of 2008.”In light of the severe economic downturn, we are pleased with our first quarter results,” Astec chairman Don Brock said. “The anticipation of the stimulus funding encouraged many state departments of transportation to delay letting jobs for five to six months, starting in October 2008.“As a result, many of our customers completed their open jobs with few new jobs being awarded by states.”He said that, due to the severe and rapid downturn that occurred in the fourth quarter, customers were cautious and were buying equipment only after getting the jobs. “Our lower backlog allows us to react to customer needs more quickly and will hopefully prevent us from losing sales due to lengthy deliveries when backlogs are higher.”
