Good news from across the sea is that CLEAR International has issued a new report forecasting the demand for heavy goods trailers in Western Europe to 2018 – and the outlook is good.
This is the first report in perhaps two years that has not reported a downturn in the economic outlook. On the contrary, the forecast for the seven largest economies in Western Europe has improved.
With this in mind, the forecast for trailer demand in Western Europe is that it will increase by 15% in 2014. This forecast assumes a strong end to the year in the last quarter of 2014. Even without this, the market would still be up 10% for the year.
Six of the countries covered by the West European report will have trailer market growth of over 20%. Five out of fifteen countries will grow by more than 1 000 new trailers and the total growth over 2013 will be 20 000 units. The forecast for new trailer demand is that it will almost match the level of 2006 by 2016.
Gary Beecroft, managing director of CLEAR, adds: “Trailer production, having fallen by 9.8% from the 2011 level, will also have a double digit increase in 2014.”
FootNote: CLEAR is a consulting group working with companies active in automotive and transport markets. Projects focus on the future demand for products as a result of changes in technology, markets, business processes and legislation. Clients include component manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers, investment banks, management consultants, materials producers and government bodies.
