During the National Fluid Power Assn. (NFPA) Industry and Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC) this year, economists told the attendees more than once, “We must face the new normal and accept it as truth.” “2007 was an anomaly.” “We will never see numbers like that again.”
During the Conference, speakers addressed China’s global magnitude—one economist quoted China’s crawler excavator unit count alone to be 20% of the total construction equipment units in the world! OEM Off-Highway’s Market Forecaster Frank Manfredi also touches on China’s economy, the country’s importance, but also its potential weaknesses in his mid-year economic report on page 50.
The NFPA also recently announced a new show for 2011, the Energy Efficient Hydraulics and Pneumatics Conference. The show is set to take place from November 15 to 17 at the Sheraton Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel in Rosemont, IL. The new show seeks to help companies take advantage of design concepts for fluid power systems, as well as the diagnostic and maintenance techniques to keep those systems running at peak performance.
The OEM Off-Highway team has been traveling an exorbitant amount the past month, and will be again come October. Check out or special Show Guide section on page 56 where you’ll find military-grade products exhibited at the Military Vehicles Exhibition and Conference in Detroit, as well as show previews of the upcoming BICES 2011 in Beijing, China, and ICUEE in Louisville, KY.
Yours truly will be flying to Beijing to cover the massive trade show (and any must-sees or travel tips are welcome) and I really hope the construction Transformer is there to greet me!
The IEOC came just in time for OEM Off-Highway’s annual State of the Industry issue in October, where we will have firsthand accounts of micro- and macro-economic points of view from industry leaders and association heads. Let’s see where this economy is headed from the component-based supplier point of view to the global association’s perspective.
If you have insight into your industry and where it is headed from the perspective of your business and want to get involved in the October State of the Industry, email me at [email protected].
Also, be sure to check out OEM Off-Highway’s new blog (oemoffhighway.wordpress.com) where I’ll post thoughts on news and trends in the industry. Comments and opinions are essential to a successful blog—and to a good conversation—so please feel free to engage with me on OEM’s blog, website and through email.
