Construction equipment manufacturing forecast looks dismal well into 2009

Dec. 1, 2008
The construction equipment manufacturing industry expects continued business declines in the United States through year-end 2008 of 8.6 percent, followed

The construction equipment manufacturing industry expects continued business declines in the United States through year-end 2008 of 8.6 percent, followed by flat growth in 2009 of 0.04 percent, according to the annual “outlook” survey of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

This survey provides a snapshot of construction machinery manufacturers' predictions for overall year-end 2008 and 2009 business in the U.S., Canada and worldwide.

Canada is predicted to fare better, with business stabilizing at minus 1.7 percent for 2008, followed by 2.2 percent growth in 2009. Sales to worldwide markets are anticipated to increase 8.5 percent by year-end 2008 and gain 5.4 percent in 2009.

The AEM annual outlook forecast covers 72 different whole machine product types and 19 types of attachments and components, grouped into seven broad categories: earthmoving, lifting, bituminous, concrete and aggregate, light equipment, attachments and components, and miscellaneous equipment.

AEM consolidates manufacturers' estimates of overall business activity. Each forecast in the survey is the average of responses from companies in each product line, predicting industrywide expectations rather than individual company performance, and unit sales rather than company profitability. The survey was conducted in third quarter 2008 with many of the responses prior to the U.S. financial market collapse.