Macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions

Macroeconomic conditions

In the second quarter, national economies – particularly those of developed countries – again benefited from a low oil price and expansionary monetary policy. By contrast, growth continued to falter in emerging markets.

Despite the uncertainties created by the Greek crisis, the eurozone maintained its recovery in the first half of 2015. This was due, above all, to increasing domestic consumption and growth in exports on the back of a weak euro. Having begun the year cautiously, the United States thereafter maintained a stable upward trend.

The economies of the major emerging markets are continuing to lose momentum. Although China is benefiting from lower energy prices, it is battling with the fallout from overheating in the housing market and a sharp increase in debt. Russia, which depends heavily on oil and gas production and is struggling with the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis, is in recession. Brazil is also at risk of slipping into recession owing to falling commodity prices and political uncertainty.

Sectoral conditions

Sales markets

Growth slowed slightly in the global market for industrial trucks during the second quarter. The total number of trucks ordered in all product categories and regions advanced by 3.4 per cent.

The number of trucks ordered in western Europe rose by 12.7 per cent in the first half of the year. Although second-quarter growth (8.6 per cent) was down on first-quarter growth (16.9 per cent), as had been the case in 2014, it was still at a high level. Italy and Spain, in particular, continued to benefit from pent-up demand. Germany, which is the largest individual market, fell slightly short of the average for western Europe in the first half of the year, as did France. The UK market was slightly higher than the average.

Orders in eastern Europe declined by 14.0 per cent as a result of the 51.4 per cent slump in the Russian market. Excluding Russia, eastern Europe saw substantial growth due, above all, to strong performances in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The markets in North and South America expanded by a total of 8.1 per cent year on year. The main contributor was the US market, which registered growth of 11.2 per cent. Brazil, the largest individual market in South America, contracted by 37.4 per cent.

Orders in China were down by 10.2 per cent compared with the first half of the previous year. The other Asian countries achieved significant growth overall.

In terms of product areas, demand for electric forklift trucks (up by 8.8 per cent) rose significantly in the first half of 2015, whereas orders for diesel trucks (down by 6.4 per cent) were lower year on year owing to the decline in China. The fastest rate of growth was generated by warehouse trucks, which climbed by 13.0 per cent in the second quarter. This represented a continuation of the trend from the first three months of the year. > TABLE 02

Procurement markets and conditions in the financial markets

Overall, commodity prices were far lower in the first half of 2015 than in the same period of the previous year. The price of steel, the most important raw material for KION, remained at a low level as a result of the muted economic growth. Copper prices rose slightly during the first half of 2015. Despite a recovery in the first six months, crude oil prices were significantly lower than they had been a year earlier.

There was considerable volatility in the currency markets in the first half of the year, although the main trends remained intact. The weaker euro had a positive impact on the export business in the first half of 2015. Against the Chinese renminbi, the euro was approximately 18 per cent lower on average than in the first half of 2014. The pound sterling appreciated by 11 per cent on average, whereas the Brazilian real depreciated by roughly 5 per cent despite the weak euro.