European Construction Equipment Manufacturers Face Continued Challenges

CECE reports its July 2020 Business Climate Index shows continuing challenges for manufacturers due to COVID-19, but there is a positive trend seen for 2021.

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The business climate of the European construction equipment manufacturers continued to improve in July, compared to preceding months. The CECE Business Climate Index summarizes the evaluation of the current business situation and the expectations for the next 6 months regarding sales. 

The COVID-19 outbreak affected the construction equipment sector immensely and continues to have its ramifications. Nearly half of the surveyed senior European construction equipment industry representatives report significant reduction of their production. Almost two thirds of the surveyed senior European construction equipment industry representatives experience customer-related challenges, namely shutdown of construction sites and cancellation of projects.

While clearly above the drop seen in May, the scenario is still deep in the negative area. Future expectations are gradually lightening up, but the picture is heterogeneous across regions.

On the more positive side, there are markets like Germany, CEE countries, and China. Strong pessimism persists when it comes to the Southern European, Indian, North American, and Latin American markets. The notion of a ‘V-shape’ recovery of the sector is not entirely out of reach, but as of today it looks like pre-crisis levels will not be seen again in 2021.

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