The general Business Climate Index for the Agricultural Machinery Industry in Europe has continued to increase sharply after having reached the positive range in October for the first time since mid-2019. In January 2021, the index is at +44 points (on a scale of –100 to +100).

Other than during previous upswing periods (e.g. in 2010 or 2017), this time the current business improvements do not lag behind improved future expectations, but almost the other way around. It rather appears that the industry is continuously adjusting its future expectations to a surprisingly well-performing current business.

The current business has gained further momentum. In the last month of December, another significant increase in incoming orders was recorded, both from Europe and from outside of Europe (from Europe somewhat stronger).

Regarding the market side in Europe, the industry representatives have further raised their expectations significantly into the positive for all countries, except for the UK and Ireland. In addition, the current dealer stock levels with new machines are considered to be below average across almost all markets.