Skip to main content

“Stable” 2014 for U.S. toll roads market, says Fitch Ratings

The 2014 outlook for U.S. toll roads, airports, and ports is stable despite tepid growth, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. “The growing use of Public Private Partnership, or P3, transactions to construct new or expand existing projects is largely motivated by limited resources at the state and local level, combined with uncertainty on future federal funding levels,” said Scott Zuchorski, director in Global Infrastructure and Project Finance at Fitch Ratings. “While not a panacea for all funding is
December 11, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 2014 outlook for U.S. toll roads, airports, and ports is stable despite tepid growth, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.

“The growing use of Public Private Partnership, or P3, transactions to construct new or expand existing projects is largely motivated by limited resources at the state and local level, combined with uncertainty on future federal funding levels,” said Scott Zuchorski, director in Global Infrastructure and Project Finance at Fitch Ratings.

“While not a panacea for all funding issues, governments are increasingly looking to P3s for transportation projects where the economics make sense. Two-thirds of states currently have P3 enabling legislation in place, and given the size of future capital needs, Fitch expects transportation P3s to continue to rise in 2014.”

The stable 2014 outlook for the U.S. toll roads sector is said by Fitch Ratings to reflect continued slow growth in aggregate driving across the country. The firm reports that even in a declining traffic scenario, mature assets and systems with a combination of pricing power, robust liquidity and moderate leverage retain considerable resilience to sustain current rating levels. According to Fitch Ratings, forecasting risk remains high for recently constructed or green field standalone projects, which may be more vulnerable to a sustained weak economic environment.

Related Content

  • ARTBA PPP awards include key Texas project
    July 22, 2014
    A $1.2 billion highway project in North Central Texas was recognised as a prime example of innovative transportation financing at an event held by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The 26th Annual Public Private Partnership (P3) Conference in US capital Washington was organised by ARTBA with its P3 Awards being presented in two categories, for entrepreneur of the year and project of the year. The former is given to at least one individual who has made an outstanding contributi
  • Sourcing road financing for East Africa’s network expansion
    December 4, 2015
    East Africa’s ambitious road expansion programme is seeing the network expand significantly – Shem Oirere writes The East Africa countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda have announced ambitious road sector expansion plans in the 2015/16 financial year. This is despite their national budgets being weighed down by huge deficits and persisting lack of capacity to spend resources allocated to the sector in previous years. With the huge budget deficits, the countries will have to look for alternati
  • Saving lives, funding roads the focus of IRF – RA Regional Conference in Sydney in May
    April 8, 2015
    Road safety, funding and financing will be among the key issues on the table at the inaugural IRF - Roads Australia Regional Conference for Asia and Australasia, to be held in Sydney from May 4th - 6th, 2015. The Conference coincides with UN Global Road Safety Week, with safer roads, worksites and driver behaviour being a central focus of discussions. Speakers from across the Asia Pacific are expected to share learnings and experiences in tackling regional road safety and the challenges and opportunities fo
  • Freedonia Group study: Global construction machinery sales to US$189bn by 2017
    August 5, 2013
    Global demand for construction machinery is expected to rise 6% a year to $189 billion in 2017, according to a new study by US-based industry market research firm The Freedonia Group. The expansion will be fuelled primarily by growth in the Asia/Pacific region, particularly China, where the market will climb at a double-digit annual rate as construction spending, especially on infrastructure projects, continues to increase.