The industry mood is on growth path again. Total agricultural machinery volume orders’ cover a production period longer than 3 months, the highest level since 2009.
All product segments experienced improvement. Manufacturers seem still little worried about any prospects for lower milk prices and an appreciating Euro. Despite the pull-forward effect of tractor registrations in December due to EU legislation, business climate for tractors picked up. However, the current business evaluation for tractors remains still quite below the industry average.
The breakdown for each single European markets shows once again the majority of surveyed industry representatives expect turnover increases in the next six months. In Germany, Poland, France and Italy the recovery is further solidifying. For the Netherlands and the UK, on the other hand, the outlook is somewhat less clear. Local dealers in the UK expect further growth based on their strong order intake in December and January, while the other European manufacturers are more skeptical about the situation in that market. The Scandinavian and the CIS countries have already reached the top of the upswing. Finally, at the bottom of the country ranking remains Spain, together with Switzerland.
