Europe still down with significant differences between economies in the North and South of the continent, while the rest of the world is recovering with the best performances set to come from China, India, Latin America, the United States and Brazil. The Italy in this context is still a market suffering from a major crisis and with future prospects for improvement tied to economic policy decisions focusing on growth that it is hoped the Government will be able to implement. This is the snapshot the world construction machinery market at the beginning of 2013, which analysts estimate should finally see overall growth of around 3% after two difficult years.

If we look at earth-moving machinery, in 2012 – according to the “Construction Equipment Outlook” prepared by Unacea-Prometeia – saw worldwide sales of about 700 thousand units (a decrease of 13% compared to 2011). Looking more closely at the European market, the worst figures were posted in Spain and Italy, while Russia grows, Turkey, Norway and Denmark achieved growth. It is interesting to note, in Europe, a certain resumption on the concrete machinery market, where 2012 saw growth of around 5%.

Manufacturers are committed to supplying the market with products boasting increasingly significant performance levels: the forces driving developments are competitive costs, flexibility of use and maintenance, safety and – naturally – environmental sustainability.

Regulations for off-road machines in Europe at Stage IIIB, while the reference legislation in the USA is the Tier 4 interim. 2014 is an important deadline because in view of the application of new regulations (respectively Stage IV and Tier 4 Final) requiring even more drastic reductions in emissions. And most manufacturers are already presenting models that meet these new requirements