The current business climate did not confirm the positive trend of the previous month, in which both the current business situation and the outlook for future business were rated positively for the first time in over a year. Obviously, the business situation has not yet bottomed out. The index is currently at -56 (on a scale of -100 to +100) and has only fallen below this level in the last 10 years in 2020 during the Covid outbreak shock event.
The gap between the outlook for the current situation and future business is widest in the livestock equipment sector. Here, a good future business (even in the index range above the zero line) is expected and the current index scores best of all segments at -17.
Tractor manufacturers (index -74) and producers of lawn, garden and municipal equipment (index -80) continue to expect very poor business.
However, incoming orders for the agricultural machinery industry continue to show an upward trend and - as an important early indicator - give hope that the market has reached the low point soon, although turnover expectations are rated worse compared to the previous months.
