Macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions

Macroeconomic conditions

Global economic growth lived up to the high expectations in the first half of the year. Whereas the eurozone’s growth was slightly more restrained, partly due to the strong euro and the decline in exports, the United States experienced higher growth rates and the pace of growth in the emerging markets and developing countries held steady. For 2018 as a whole, economic experts continue to anticipate sustained momentum. However, uncertainties in the global market have increased owing to protectionist measures and other political risks.

Sectoral conditions

Sales markets

The global market for industrial trucks experienced strong growth in the first half of 2018. The number of new trucks ordered was up by 15.4 per cent compared with the same period of 2017, although the increase in the second quarter was particularly strong at 18.9 per cent. In the EMEA region (western Europe, eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa), order intake was 12.5 per cent higher than in the first six months of last year. As in previous quarters, the rise in western Europe (11.6 per cent) was extremely encouraging. The markets of eastern Europe also registered significant growth (22.5 per cent). Order intake in the Americas region went up by 13.7 per cent, primarily due to a larger number of orders in the major sales markets. Demand also picked up in the APAC region during the second quarter, resulting in an overall increase for the six-month period of 19.0 per cent. This was predominantly attributable to fast-growing demand in China during the second quarter.

The number of orders for electric forklift trucks rose by 10.6 per cent worldwide. Diesel truck orders grew by 14.8 per cent. The biggest increase, 17.8 per cent, was achieved by warehouse trucks due to a particularly sharp rise in orders for smaller entry-level models. > TABLE 02

In the Supply Chain Solutions market, the structural growth drivers and the growth trend both remained intact. The rapid expansion of e-commerce and the increasing use of Industry 4.0 technologies continue to shape the market for warehouse systems and automation solutions. Many businesses are investing further in the expansion and optimisation of their warehouse capacities and in automated warehouse systems that include not only solutions for individual processes, such as picking and packing, but also fully integrated end-to-end solutions.

Procurement markets and conditions in the financial markets

The procurement markets registered sharp price increases for some goods. The price of steel rocketed in the first few weeks of the year before stabilising at a high level. Compared with the end of 2017, the price of copper went up only moderately but was still well above the average price in the first half of 2017. The price of Brent crude oil rose over the course of the reporting period to more than US$ 70 per barrel; at the end of June 2017, it had still been below US$ 50.

Overall, currency effects resulting from the strong euro had a negative impact on the KION Group’s earnings in the first half of 2018. The euro was approximately 12 per cent higher on average against the US dollar than in the first half of 2017, although it fell again in the second quarter. Against pound sterling, the euro was up by 2 per cent on average compared with the prior-year period. The euro appreciated by 4 per cent on average against the Chinese renminbi.