German construction equipment supply association, VDMA, has announced a recovery in sales of machinery. The orders for equipment have increased by 60 per cent during the period January to August 2010, compared to the same period in 2009.
However, revenues belie this vast increase in activity, Sebastian Popp, economic expert of the Construction Equipment and Building Machinery Association of VDMA announced that the current level of turnover is at best equivalent to the level enjoyed in 2005. If revenues continue to accrue at the present rate, however, VDMA will rise above their own predicted increase of five per cent by the end of the year.
This recovery is expected to continue at least into the next year. IHS Global Insight predicts that the worldwide construction industry will grow by about four per cent a year from 2009 to 2014. Asia has been targeted as a large factor in this, with growth estimated at around 8 per cent, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) anticipates that Asian growth will, in 2010, constitute around 46 per cent of the global total.
South America is also identified as a promising future market. Brazil, in particular, is planning to invest USD 480bn in energy supply, housing construction and infrastructure over the next four years. Indeed, the construction industry in the country is worth approximately USD 100bn, or, 5 per cent of GDP. Brazilian construction machinery association Sobratema anticipates sales of construction machines will increase by more than 24 per cent in 2010.
