Level of orders

The number of trucks ordered rose moderately in 2013. However, the KION Group was unable to keep up with the pace of growth in the sector globally. The main reason for this was that western European markets remain crucial to the Group’s new orders. This meant that the Group was particularly affected by continued weak demand in Germany and western Europe in the first nine months of the year. Outside western Europe, the number of trucks ordered went up by 6.9 per cent and the KION Group was therefore roughly at the average for the global market. It was able to keep pace with the rate of growth in the eastern European market, while in South America it grew at a far faster rate than the market. Order numbers in China were also up significantly. However, the market there, which is dominated by the economy price segment, grew at an even faster rate. Overall, the emerging markets accounted for 35.0 per cent of new orders in 2013 (2012: 32.1 per cent). This was a new record for the KION Group, both in percentage terms and in absolute numbers.

The total value of order intake was €4,489.1 million, just 2.2 per cent short of its value in the corresponding period of the previous year (excluding the hydraulics business). There was a decline in the volume of orders in the Linde Material Handling segment, whereas the STILL segment saw a sharp rise. If exchange rate effects of €73.8 million were eliminated, the KION Group would have been at virtually the same high level as 2012.

The KION Group’s global market share was around 14.1 per cent in 2013, 0.9 percentage points less than in 2012. Regional factors played a role here, for example the Group does not have a large presence in the fast-growing North American market. The decline in unit sales of counterbalance trucks also had a negative impact.