Macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions

Macroeconomic conditions

The global economy continued to expand at only a moderate pace in the third quarter. This can mainly be attributed to weaker growth in emerging markets that, in recent years, have benefited from demand from China and the boom in commodities. Russia and Brazil are particularly affected by this trend.

The eurozone continued along its path of recovery, mainly thanks to Germany’s positive economic performance. In the United States, the economy also saw moderate growth. Nonetheless, the US Federal Reserve decided against an interest rate hike in September in view of the uncertainty in international financial markets.

The situation deteriorated in emerging markets. Trade was held back by falling commodity prices and, in particular, faltering demand from China. Growth in other emerging markets of Asia also slowed significantly. Moreover, increasing fears about the Chinese economy and the country’s high debt levels caused stock market prices to slump, in turn leading to government intervention.

Sectoral conditions

Sales markets

The global market for industrial trucks contracted slightly in the third quarter. Compared with the first nine months of 2014, however, the number of trucks ordered rose by 1.6 per cent.

The number of trucks ordered in western Europe climbed by 10.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2015, although market growth slowed to 6.2 per cent in the third quarter. Italy and Spain continued to benefit from pent-up demand, registering above- average rises in truck sales. The United Kingdom and France also saw double-digit increases. Germany, however, which is the largest individual market, was below the average for western Europe as a whole.

Orders in eastern Europe (excluding Russia) went up by 5.5 per cent in the first nine months of the year. The Russian market continued on its steep downward trajectory, contracting by 42.2 per cent.

The North American market remained buoyant in the third quarter. It achieved growth of 10.8 per cent compared with the first nine months of the previous year. Central and South America continued to decline (down by 9.3 per cent), with Brazil – the largest individual market in the region – registering a decrease of 41.6 per cent.

Orders in China were down by 12.3 per cent compared with the first nine months of 2014, contributing to the reduction of 4.8 per cent in the Asian market as a whole.

The slowdown in growth in the overall market during the reporting period was attributable to diesel truck orders (down by 8.6 per cent), which were particularly affected by falling demand from China. By contrast, there was a substantial rise in orders for electric forklift trucks (up by 7.2 per cent) and warehouse trucks (up by 11.3 per cent) in the first three quarters of the year. > TABLE 02

Procurement markets and conditions in the financial markets

Commodity prices fell overall in the first nine months of 2015. The price of steel, the most important raw material, was at a low level as a result of the muted economic growth and the slowdown in China. Having rallied briefly in the middle of the year, copper prices dropped again to prior-year levels in the third quarter. The price of crude oil was also far lower than it had been a year earlier.

Currency markets have been very volatile over the year so far. Despite steadying in the third quarter, the euro depreciated over the nine-month period. This impacted positively on the KION Group’s order intake and revenue but also pushed up costs. Against the Chinese renminbi, the euro was approximately 17 per cent lower on average than in the first nine months of 2014 although a countervailing trend emerged in August. The pound sterling appreciated by 10 per cent on average, whereas the Brazilian real depreciated by 14 per cent.