Orders for new plant and heavy equipment should grow in 2014 as a 20% growth in the construction industry is predicted.
Statistics New Zealand says in the last twelve months to November 2013 the total value of consents issued for new buildings was $9.134 billion, up 20% on the previous twelve months.
Consents for $2.7 billion worth of building alteration work were also issued in that time, a 9% increase on the previous twelve month period.
The total value of all building work consented is $11.841 billion, an increase of 17%. Consents have been issued for 20,646 new residential properties, a 24% increase, and consents have been issued for 2.8 million square metres of new non-residential building space, a 14% increase on the year before.
The likely regions for growth in construction are Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury.
Mercedes-Benz New Zealand commercial general manager Dave Ballentyne says there has been a marked increase in demand for heavy haul trucks, which transport plant and equipment to building sites, as well as a noticeable increase in demand for concrete mixer trucks.
“We have not yet seen an increase in demand for 6X4 and 8×4 tippers, they will ramp up but this has not yet happened,” says Ballentyne.
Ballentyne comments that many transport operators prefer to buy Japanese brands and/or second hand tippers to cart roading metal and the like, but it is the likes of the grain and fertiliser carriers who buy new units.
Overall Ballentyne says he fully expects to see an increase in truck sales in 2014.
