General Market Information
Slowdown in Europe’s Construction Equipment Market – Russia is one of the Growth Engines for Europe
“Compared to other markets in Europe, Russia is doing fairly well for the European construction equipment industry”, says Ralf Wezel, Secretary General of CECE, the European Construction Equipment Association at CTT 2013, the major construction equipment trade show in Russia which took place from June 4 to 7 in Moscow.
One out of three tower cranes produced and sold in Europe are currently going to Russia. Governmental and private projects in the oil and gas industry and in the infrastructure and housing sectors stimulate demand. However, sales of road equipment have decreased considerably in the first quarter of this year. “Despite this, Russia remains to be one of the growth engines for our industry”, states Mr. Wezel.
The industry expects the situation to improve significantly in the second quarter of this year, as the long winter had delayed construction activity and investments. Companies also reported a very good order intake at and after bauma 2013 in Munich. The recent CECE business barometer confirms this positive trend. Increased confidence of European companies about future sales pushed the business climate index of May over the zero line.
For political and social reasons, governments of all administrative levels push housing construction. The need for infrastructure investments in Russia, being the largest state in the world, is huge. The expansion of the road and rail network as well as the development of ports and airports is crucial for the country’s economical success. Investments are even more necessary with regard to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Sources
- Press Release of CECE Committee for European Construction Equipment,
http://www.cece.eu/publicationsDetail.php?ref=1&id=880&mem=0 - Synopsis on Economic Trends in Russia by GTAI (Germany Trade and Invest),
www.gtai.de - Report of the VDMA-German Engineering Federation,
http://www.vdma.org/article/-/articleview/1678873