Macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions

Macroeconomic conditions

According to initial data, the global economy continued its recovery in the first six months of the year, although macroeconomic indicators such as world trade remain subdued.

In the course of the year so far, the eurozone economy has, overall, continued to pick up slightly. Nevertheless, economic growth was dampened in the second quarter, above all due to geopolitical uncertainties such as the Ukrainian crisis and the appreciation of the euro until well into spring. After a strong start to the year Germany has recently lost some of its momentum, although the economic upswing as a whole continued to consolidate. All in all, the recovery in Europe has broadened compared with 2013. A number of economically weaker periphery states have been able to improve their competitiveness during the current year, showing a further gradual improvement.

The growth rate in the USA was the most notable disappointment in the first quarter, after again being revised significantly downwards. The USA picked up in the second quarter, and economic growth in China stabilised after slowing substantially in the first quarter. There was also further relatively muted growth in the other larger emerging markets.

Sectoral conditions

Sales markets

In the global market for industrial trucks there were further signs of growth in the second quarter of 2014. However, this growth (measured in terms of the number of units ordered) was somewhat less dynamic, at 8.9 per cent, than in the first quarter (9.7 per cent). In the period under review, the increase in orders for both electric and diesel trucks, at 9.3 per cent, was roughly the same as for warehouse technology (9.2 per cent), albeit with substantial regional differences.

In western Europe, the volume of orders rose by 12.1 per cent compared with the first half of 2013, with growth stronger in the second quarter. Germany, the biggest individual market, made a significant contribution, recording a 10.6 per cent increase in unit sales. Growth was particularly strong in the UK, Italy and Spain.

The Russian market stabilised somewhat after experiencing a slump in the first quarter – caused by the Ukraine crisis – but its performance was still well below the first half of 2013. By contrast, the other eastern European countries delivered solid growth and were even able to substantially improve on the strong increases of the first three months of the year.

There was a further slight contraction in growth in the Chinese market. Despite this, China, and in particular its largest volume segment, diesel trucks, accounted for a large proportion of additional new truck sales worldwide in the period under review. By contrast, a number of growth markets in South America again showed a negative trend. In Brazil, the market was unable to match last year’s record highs, registering a sharp 12.1 per cent year-on-year decline in the volume of orders for the first half of the year. >> TABLE 02

Procurement markets and conditions in the financial markets

Overall, commodity prices were lower in the first six months of 2014 than in the same period of the previous year. Steel and copper prices fell again in the second quarter. Only the price of oil increased in the second quarter. However, it remained slightly below the previous year’s level for the period under review.

In the second quarter, the strong euro and the devaluation of currencies in individual emerging markets again had a negative impact on the KION Group’s revenue and order intake. The latest cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank had a direct impact because it caused the euro, which had recently strengthened against other currencies, to weaken considerably.