Confident and Crisis-tested

Excerpt

Despite declining incoming orders, the construction equipment sector has not been as badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis as other sectors. Although it is difficult to make predictions in the current situation, we at VDMA have managed to draw quite a clear picture of the sentiment across sectors, including construction equipment, thanks to regular surveys conducted since February. Since June, disruptions in the supply chain have had no serious impact. Overall, nobody believes that it will take longer than four years before the sector has completely recovered. It is still benefiting from the boom years of 2018 and 2019 and was able to support itself in the first six months of the year with existing orders and sales. Many construction sites remained up and running, with projects being rescheduled rather than being canceled; a factor which has also contributed to the overall stability of the sector. Manufacturers of construction equipment reacted flexibly to the new circumstances, in part adapting their production to multi-shift operation, thereby relieving the pressure on their employees and adhering to the hygiene measures. Unfortunately, some cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed among the workforce and closures and short-time work could not be entirely avoided in Germany. Hope has now been placed in the economic programs. …