Recent findings from a CECE flash survey paint a gloomy picture for the European construction equipment (CE) Industry facing the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The ad-hoc flash survey ran between March 23 and 27, and gathered input from a representative group of industry leaders assessing the impact and delivering their perception on the business perspective.
With 32% of respondents pointing to significant reduction and 30% reporting factory closures, it is evident that the impact on production and manufacturing is already severe. Only 3% report not being effected at all.
Read more: Heavy Equipment Manufacturers Alter Operations due to Impacts of COVID-19
In the second question of the survey, respondents identify the main challenge for the construction equipment industry. The strongest single concern relates to the behavior of relevant customers’ groups. Indeed, prolonged construction inactivity—jobsites closing down and projects being delayed —is worrying half of the respondents in the CECE survey. Disruptions in the supply chain and general manufacturing shutdowns are identified as the main challenges by over 1/3 of the respondents.
The last question of the flash survey tried to gauge the impact of this crisis on OEMs’ sales expectations. Highlighting the uncertainties that still surround this phase of the COVID-19 crisis in many European countries, 15% of the respondents say it is currently impossible to estimate this. On the other hand, 40% of the replies point to an estimated drop in sales of 10-30% and 32% of the respondents foresee an even more severe drop of over 30%. Only 2% are estimating no impact at all on sales expectations.
Within or in addition to the monthly Business Barometer, CECE will keep carrying out regular members’ surveys in this particular time. If you want to take part in these surveys, please write to [email protected].
