Earthmoving and mining equipment sales increased marginally in 2017, giving suppliers reason to be cautiously optimistic this year.

According to Lawrence Peters, Chairman of the Construction and Mining Equipment Suppliers’ Association (CONMESA) the outlook for 2018 is likely to remain positive provided the country experiences ongoing political and currency stability.

Peters believes that political and economic stability in combination with a recovery in certain commodities such as coal may be just the medicine the industry needs to recover beyond the highs of 2013 levels.

Stalled infrastructure projects affect sales

Despite the optimism Peters notes that a number of factors continue to weigh on sales with low commodity prices, as well as political uncertainty and a volatile currency hampering  the economy in terms of production and investment.

“As a result, large-scale construction, mining, government and municipal infrastructure projects are being stalled and this still weighs heavily on equipment sales,” he explains.

An industry wide upturn expected

“While sales in general are suppressed, there are pockets of high-activity in certain regions due to local infrastructure programmes attracting investment, as well as certain mining and agricultural sectors which have become resurgent.”

He explains that figures for the first three quarters of 2017 averaged over 1450 units per quarter, which is a welcome improvement of the 1180 units per quarter averaged in the previous year.

“We are hopeful that these are the leading indicators for an industry wide upturn and based on this upward trend are looking forward to a better year in 2018,” Lawrence concludes.