Market reactions from truck and equipment dealers from around the country show that optimism is growing. Even those which had slow months shared a similar ‘it could be worse’ outlook and felt conditions were generally improving.
Dealers were of the opinion that consumer confidence appears to be improving even if sales remained modest, and they noted a lot of gear is growing old in the tooth.
Wes Malcolm of Mainline Commercial and Industrial in Richmond (Nelson) says November was steady – with growth on the horizon.
“People are a lot more positive, there has been a massive change in the last 12 months in regard to how people talk about the industry, and their overall attitude,” he says.
“We had constant enquiry throughout, especially so for excavators. December is shaping up to be a good month, which is surprising just before Christmas, so we’ll wait and see how that pans out. We are expecting things to ramp up in 2013 and we are preparing for this.”
Will Mouat from Wholesale Commercial Vehicles in Hamilton echoed the sentiments. “This month has been quite positive and we’ve had strong enquiry,” he says.
“Usually the lead up to Christmas sees things quieten down but there seems to be a good deal of buyers out there looking for commercials. There is strong demand for car licence trucks, and I’ve noticed rental companies are looking for replacements for their fleets. Specialised trucks are popular, things like box body tail lifts or tippers.”
Terry Kurvink of Robertson Isuzu in Palmerston North is accepting of the fact that growth will be hard won.
“November was ok, although we noticed a down turn in the service department,” he told DIESELtalk.
“People are still cautious and mindful of anything they do. I believe this will continue into 2013 and you’ll have to work hard for everything you get.”
Cameron Childs of Just Trucks in Auckland noticed a slowdown. “November has been a bit hard, and 2012 has been up and down. This is just the nature of the economy we currently live in, and I don’t see any real trends in what people are buying.
“We usually experience a slowdown around Christmas and it is too early to predict what is going to occur in 2013,” says Childs.
Wayne Ball from UD Trucks in Northland says November was steady. “People are buying a bit of everything across the board and the volume of enquiry we are getting is positive. Good quality used trucks just walk out the door and there is definitely a shortage of those.
“It seems everyone has been sitting back watching the economy but they can’t do they for much longer and are having to take the bull by the horns. I believe 2013 will see market conditions improve on the last two years.”
Mark Etheridge from Drummond and Etheridge in Canterbury, says they have been tracking steadily for sometime, but he is predicting a slowdown in the future.
“We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary (in November) but things are certainly holding up and sales are good across the board. I believe things will slacken off early next year, and there are signs of this already happening. So far this has been marked by a slight decline in forward orders which might indicate a small confidence issue. Whether this will escalate or drop away, only time will tell,” he says.
Mark Anderson from Southland Farm Machinery in Otago says November was patchy, reflecting the overall conditions of the last six months.
“Our business is driven by milk and stock prices – so we are crossing our fingers for rain.”
