Positive market tendencies for the construction machinery sector
We must not expect miracles to happen throughout 2010 but „we hope that a strong bauma in April this year will help support the change in atmosphere which is so very important for the construction equipment and building material machinery industry“, explained Dr. Christof Kemmann Chairman of the VDMA Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery Industry Association.
bauma 2010 is a positive sign – high number of innovations
Kemmann said that this years’ bauma is fully booked and this is – in light of all negative trends – a positive sign. The fair is becoming an important indicator of the situation the industry finds itself in. Record sales, full order books and booming markets are a thing of the past. Instead most exhibitors are facing drastic drops in demand and turnover. According to VDMA, measures to reduce cost are therefore vital and have already been taken by some German manufacturers. Simultaneously, they have to prepare for the time after the crisis. The answers every single manufacturer found to the meet the challenges are expected with high interest. Mr Kemmann expects bauma 2010 to more than underlining once again its reputation of being a trade fair for innovations. More than 200 applications for the bauma Innovation Award 2010 also already gave an idea, so he said.
Business barometer: Mood brightening up
Throughout the entire year of 2009, the amount of incoming orders and industry-wide sales dropped by about 50% on average within the German market. The current business climate index as well as the business barometer by VDMA’s European umbrella organization CECE, however, are reasons for hope, Dr Kemmann said. The majority of companies expects to see their business activities to go up again. This trend is supported by the fact that most companies saw more incoming orders already by the end of last year.
High growth rates a thing of the past
Dr. Kemmann stressed that growth rates similar to the ones the industry saw between 2003 and 2008 are currently and for the near future not to be expected. This was due to four reasons:
» the growth rates during the boom phase had been higher than the real demand,
» the growth rates currently forecasted for the European construction industry are on the low. A lasting growth is expected only as of 2011,
» worldwide there still is a rather high amount of “young” second-hand machinery available and a large amount of machinery currently in use is relatively new,
» financial support by banks, however urgently required, is still rather difficult to achieve.
Worldwide long-term forecast positive
In 2010, so one could hear at the media-dialogue, the course has to be set for the time after the crisis. The long term forecasts for the construction, building material industry, mining as well as construction machinery industry worldwide are positive. According to Mr Kemmann, this is thanks to the rapidly growing markets in Asia and other regions, Brazil in particular.
Address/Anschrift
VDMA Fachverband Bau- und Baustoffmaschinen
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60528 Frankfurt/Germany
Tel.: +49 69 6603-1257
Fax: +49 69 6603-2257
bub@vdma.org
www.vdma.org/construction
