Sales markets
The slowdown of the global economy also filtered through to the market for industrial trucks. Whereas unit sales of new trucks during the early months of 2012 were still influenced by the high level of order intake in the previous year, the subsequent months saw a fall in demand.
The number of trucks ordered globally decreased by 3.1 per cent. In western Europe – KION's largest market by far – the number of orders decreased by 7.1 per cent. Germany, which remains KION's largest individual market, proved somewhat more stable than Europe as a whole and contracted by 5.5 per cent. The United Kingdom bucked the trend with a rise of 4.4 per cent in orders for new trucks, whereas France and Italy both registered sharp falls of 8.0 per cent and 21.5 per cent, respectively.
Order intake in eastern Europe was stable thanks to growth in the Russian market. Decreasing unit sales in Asia were primarily the result of a decline in the Chinese market. A sharp contraction of business in Brazil had a significant adverse impact on unit sales in Central and South America.
There was only a slight shift in the market shares of the individual regions compared with 2011. Western Europe remained in first place with a share of 27 per cent of total unit sales, with as much as 45 per cent of global orders for warehouse trucks coming from western Europe. China accounted for 23 per cent of orders for new trucks in 2012 and was also the largest market for counterbalance trucks with a global market share of 33 per cent.
Order intake broken down by product group shows that the market for warehouse trucks was much more stable than the market as a whole, with orders decreasing by just 1.9 per cent. Within this group, there was a sharp rise in order intake for rider trucks. The decrease of 3.8 per cent in the number of orders for counterbalance trucks was predominantly attributable to declining figures for combustion engine industrial trucks.
|
Global Industrial Truck Market (order intake) |
|
|
| ||
|
in thousand units |
2012 |
2011 |
Changes | ||
| |||||
|
|
|
|
| ||
|
Western Europe |
259 |
278 |
-7.1% | ||
|
thereof |
|
|
| ||
|
Germany |
72 |
76 |
-5.5% | ||
|
France |
51 |
56 |
-8.0% | ||
|
United Kingdom |
28 |
27 |
4.4% | ||
|
Eastern Europe |
54 |
54 |
-1.3% | ||
|
thereof |
|
|
| ||
|
Russia |
24 |
23 |
4.7% | ||
|
Europe |
312 |
333 |
-6.1% | ||
|
North America |
181 |
170 |
6.8% | ||
|
thereof |
|
|
| ||
|
U.S.A. |
165 |
155 |
6.7% | ||
|
Central & South America |
49 |
55 |
-12.0% | ||
|
thereof |
|
|
| ||
|
Brazil |
19 |
23 |
-16.7% | ||
|
China |
217 |
238 |
-9.0% | ||
|
Rest of World |
187 |
181 |
3.6% | ||
|
World |
947 |
977 |
-3.1% | ||
Procurement markets
Commodity prices have a direct impact on around 26 per cent of the cost of materials for manufacturing an industrial truck at KION. Owing to the gloomier economic data, the price of steel plate was 9.6 per cent lower on average than it had been in 2012, while the price of steel bars was down by 12.8 per cent. The price of steel scrap, an important commodity used in counterweights, fell by an average of 4.7 per cent. Copper prices decreased by 2.4 per cent year on year. Like rubber (fall of 23.4 per cent) and plastic, copper has a lesser impact on manufacturing costs. The price of lead-acid batteries, which make up a significant proportion of the total price of electric trucks, is particularly dependent on lead prices on the metal exchanges. However, these price fluctuations are borne by customers owing to the way in which contracts are formulated.
Energy prices were higher in 2012 than they had been the previous year. Natural gas prices rose in Europe and Asia. Although KION's production facilities predominantly use electricity and gas, the oil price is used as an indicator because it affects other energy sources as well as the price of plastic. The price of Brent crude oil (listed in US dollars) was 8.6 per cent higher on average than in 2011.
