Equipment manufacturers predict modest upticks in business through 2013

In the just-released construction equipment "business outlook" survey of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM):

• Construction machinery manufacturers predict overall business in the United States to close out 2010 with 6.4-percent growth, then gain 12.7% in 2011 and 14.8% in 2012, followed by 2013 growth of 13.0%.
• Canadian business overall is expected to be 8.2% higher in 2010 than the previous year, and record gains of 12.0% in 2011, 14.8% in 2012 and 12.7% in 2013.
• Industry business to the rest of the world is anticipated to be strongest in 2010  - up by 14.7% – and then grow 11.8% in 2011, 12.5% in 2012 and 11.2% in 2013.

"While this rebound is welcome, you have to remember our industry was down 30 to 50 percent in the recession, so there is a long way to go. Although business is improving, it will take years to recover the sales losses of 2008-2009," stated AEM President Dennis Slater.  "This hopeful outlook will be difficult to achieve without action now on transportation infrastructure legislation and export-promotion policies. Infrastructure investment and export agreements are proven ways to create and maintain jobs for U.S. workers, for a sustainable recovery and meaningful uptick in equipment demand."

AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing the off-road equipment manufacturing industry. Each business-activity forecast is the average of responses from manufacturers in each product line, predicting industry-wide expectations rather than individual company performance, and unit sales rather than company profitability.