CVF Off-Highway 2020 off to a great start

The first edition of Commercial Vehicle Forum devoted to conversations on off-highway equipment segments discoursed on a series of issues and megatrends of critical importance to construction, earthmoving, mining, industrial, and agricultural equipment market in the country. An exclusive report by Dhiyanesh Ravichandran.

- Dhiyanesh Ravichandran

The off-highway equipment market is an intricate space to understand, precisely because of its cyclic nature that is prone to sharp swings in demand. For instance, when the construction and mining activities escalate in the country, sales pick up instantly resulting in prolonged lead times, as the manufacturers struggle to meet the orders. When the activities slow down, demand for new equipment drop sharply as contractors and rental firms can manage with the existing parc of equipment. At present, the Indian equipment market is caught in an intricate scenario wherein despite the fair level of construction activities being announced in the country, the equipment sales are witnessing a strong de-growth, with negative sentiments prevailing in the market since last year.

The domestic equipment market enjoyed a remarkable surge from 2016 to 2018 owing to an infrastructure boom, but a series of disruptions erupted to dampen the positive growth, including that of last year’s general elections, a wide-open liquidity crisis across the sectors of the economy, and so on. Yet, long-term prospects in the country are predicted to be extremely positive, aided by further sophistication and diversification of product lines and value-addition by connected technologies. In this backdrop, Commercial Vehicle Forum – a unique independent platform for senior executives of top concerns and industry experts – ventured for the first time to deliberate on developments and issues facing the Indian off-highway equipment markets. It took place on January 23 this year at Gurgaon.

Market outlook