All Market & forecasts Articles

Mathew Taylor, CEO of JCB believes the construction equipment market could recover quickly if credit became more widely available.

Worldwide demand for cement and concrete additives will rise +6.0% per year to US$ 16.2 billion in 2012, according to the latest report by US-based Freedonia Group.

European construction output is expected to fall -4,3% in 2009, following a -2,5% drop in 2008, according to the latest figures from Euroconstruct. Moderate growth of +0,4% is expected in 2010, picking up to +2,2% in 2011.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says GDP growth in the region's developing economies will slow to +5.8% in 2009, down from +6.9% in 2008 and +9% in 2007.

The managing director of Ireland-based crane rental company Wm O' Brien Plant Hire has shared his experience of previous economic downturns in the hope it will help others through current conditions.

South America promises to be a fantastic rental market in the decades to come. But for now, where are the market opportunities, and who is grasping them? Murray Pollok reports.

Global construction equipment sales are expected to rise +8.5% this year and a further +5.4% in 2009 according the latest ‘outlook' survey from the US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

While Western Europe faces a slowdown, much of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is experiencing a boom across all sectors of construction activity. Steve Skinner looks at demand in the region and what the issues and expectations are for the future.

Surveying equipment manufacturers are continuing to simplify the instruments used in the construction industry as skilled surveyors in the sector are becoming increasingly rare.

The latest foundation equipment and techniques are more environmentally friendly and technologically sophisticated allowing for increased productivity on challenging construction sites.

The German construction market continued along its path of recovery last year with construction growing albeit at a slower rate compared to 2006. Slower growth is expected again in 2008.

The events rental market is preparing for a slowdown in 2009, but several major temporary structure rental companies and manufacturers told IRN that 2009 would not see a dramatic downturn in the sector.

Global construction growth will slow to under +2% in 2009, according to economic forecasting company Global Insight. This will be the slowest growth rate since 2002, when the worldwide industry grew by just +0.1%, and a marked slowdown from the intervening years when global growth was between +4% and +6%.

The booming Russian construction industry has succumbed to the global credit squeeze and slowed after a significant turn in business confidence in the past weeks according to PMR, a market research organisation specialising in Central and Eastern Europe.

The turmoil on global financial markets will see the Western European equipment market fall -24% this year from 2007's record high of 211796 unit sales according to economic forecasting consultant Off-Highway Research. Denmark, Ireland, Spain and the UK are expected to see particularly sharp downturns.

Italian rental companies are reporting continued growth in the country's rental market despite the economic situation, with particular opportunities in the south of the country.

Last year saw a record € 64,6 billion of construction work carried out in Europe by contractors working outside their home market according to data from European International Contractors (EIC). This was a +4,5% increase on 2006, and the fourth straight year that the volume of international work within Europe has risen.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission, reported a June to July increase of +0,2% in construction output in the EU27 Member States, although year-on-year 2007 to 2008 figures for July showed an overall decline of -1,8%.

With house building turning down in the wake of the global credit crunch, European construction output will shrink this year. However, growth is still strong in the developing Eastern economies and the infrastructure market in general looks buoyant. Chris Sleight reports.

The latest figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) show construction output in the second quarter of this year (2Q08) suffered a sharp slow-down in new build activity by the private sector.