CEMA – an umbrella body representing the agricultural machinery manufacturing industry across Europe – says that the “general business climate index” of the farm machinery sector is continuing on an upward trajectory.
The current business “index”, according to CEMA, is at its highest since 2012.
Based on past and current order intakes, turnover looks set to increase during the coming months. In particular, orders from outside Europe are said to be “gaining additional momentum”.
Within EU markets, a majority of surveyed participants expect turnover to increase for the next six months.
In Poland, although results from the tractor market show only little growth, overall expectations have “further solidified”. In Germany, the market is said to be growing and expectations are once again solidifying. Spain has further deteriorated due to bad weather conditions (drought).
The expectations for France and Italy are mixed, depending on region and sector. Some companies report increasing order intakes; others report a drop.
Finally, the CIS countries are said to have “lost some of their dynamic”, suggesting that the peak has already been reached there.
Image source: Shane Casey
Regarding the parts and components sector, manufacturers are reporting strong values “on all indicators”.
Product sectors
Looking at individual product sectors, current business for arable equipment appears healthiest – according to CEMA. However, future expectations are cautious – probably due to “worsened harvesting expectations” in some regions of Europe.
Image source: Shane Casey
At the same time, especially for livestock-related machinery, the divergence between future expectations and current business indicators is “persisting”. Nonetheless, livestock equipment has the “best future outlook” after the parts and components sector, but the “worst current business situation”.
Where the data comes from
This data comes from a monthly survey carried out within the European agricultural machinery industry. The series of surveys originally started back in 2008.
Image source: Shane Casey
According to CEMA, it covers all major sectors across the agricultural machinery manufacturing industry – from tractors to municipal equipment. The target group is 140 senior managers from nine participating countries.
Key topics covered by the survey include:
- Current and future business situation;
- Situation of order intake;
- Development of turnover;
- Turnover expectation per country;
- Production plans;
- Employment plans.
