A recent report from
the Rouse Asset Services reveals the current buoyancy of the North American
powered access market. It shows that, for the calendar month continuing up to
the last day of March 2013, the Rose Index of Orderly Liquidations Values (OLV)
increased by 0.3% from the month before. There is also longer-term evidence of
a boom in rental rates, with those in January 2013 sitting at a level 6.8%
higher than 12 months previously.
These findings follow
those published in an IPAF Powered Access Rental Market Report that show that,
despite market stagnation elsewhere in the world, the North America experienced
growth of 6% in 2012. And looking forward, figures from the Rouse report
support opinion voiced in 2012 by market analysts that the growth of that year
was set to continue into 2013. Furthermore, with the US market containing 49%
of the total number of international powered access units, this growth is positive
news for industry manufacturers around the world.
The Rouse report
compiles information from the powered access industry in North America, and
covers both new and second-hand purchases. The OLV percentage expresses the
cost of replacing a specific unit by rental companies and dealers next to the
replaced unit’s average age and as such is more than just an indicator of
market sales by themselves. The OLV figures show that the average age of
equipment in the rental industry, balanced by a cost weighting, is 4.6 years of
telescopic boom lifts and high-reach fork lifts, 4.3 years for articulating
boom lifts and 4.7 for scissor lifts.
The report also shows
that auction sales in March increased by 3.9% from February. Reuse tracks
information about the movement of 14 types of major powered access equipment.
This includes scissor lifts, moon lifts, high-reach forklifts and telescopic
boom lifts and the survey covered 3,443 units with a total value of $82.9
million. These items were bought at
auction for a total of $86.1 in gross sales. Breaking the market down, it
showed that areal work platforms made up 33% of new sales in March and 29% of
second-hand purchases by distributors and rental companies. High-reach
forklifts were the second most popular item, with sales of 25% and 17%
respectively. In both categories, JLG was the market leader, followed by Genie.
The Rouse index also
analyses usage of rental equipment and found that, from July 2012 to January
2013, market utilisation of articulating boom lifts dropped by 4.3%,
scissor-lift use fell by 1.1%, telescopic booms by 2.7% and high-reach
forklifts by 1.8%.
Guest post by www.workingatheight.co.uk
