South African construction and mining equipment sales have declined for a third quarter in a row.
According to figures released by the Construction and Mining Equipment Suppliers’ Association (CONMESA), just 1,292 machines were sold during the period - 1,541 units down from the same period last year. The downward movement marks an acceleration of declines beginning in the last quarter of 2018 when the downward trend began with a drop of 4.65%. This was followed by a steep drop of 14.49% in the first quarter and a further drop this quarter.
While the market has remained mostly flat for the past four years, the latest drop in sales is the largest since 2016. CONMESA chairman Calvin Fennell says the depressed state of the economy has a knock-on effect on the equipment industry.
“Although there are sectors and areas of demand, the construction industry is largely depressed and stagnant. While the mining industry is fairing slightly better, it is still far off its previous levels and as a result equipment suppliers are feeling the pinch of the prolonged downturn.
“There is no silver bullet for the economy to turn around and as a result we foresee much of the same for the foreseeable future with only moderate swings towards either end of the scale,” says Fennell.
He maintains that until such time as large infrastructure works are awarded, the reducing market with increasing numbers of competitors is going to be tough for us and the other established brands. The same is true of the mining industry where lack of global demand continues to maintain resource prices at moderate levels.
