[Smokin' Joe]

There are an awful lof of oilfield service company hands up here (North Dakota) working, and some are hands who would have likely been working in the Gulf had the moratorium not been imposed.

When the work is spread thin by delays, it is hard to keep people if it isn't that way elsewhere.

When the time grows between being able to send in invoices, that hurts like all get out, and if you are using people with a base salary and benefits you have to continue paying for those, and for worker's comp, regardless of the thinly stretched revenue stream. That crunch can be a killer, especially for smaller businesses which are less likely to be spread over multiple service areas.

[bert]

I know the problem well. I wince even thinking about it

In the cyclical 70’s construction business there was no winning course. You let go the employees they were gone when you needed them. You kept them on (as I did) you lost your shirt.

We all made do, but didn’t make a lot of money.

I’m older and wiser and have downsized to just me. (and my computer)