The general business climate index for the agricultural machinery industry in Europe has stopped its first significant upward trend since the sharp declines in the course of the Russian war against Ukraine, but remains still at a relatively good level. In March, the index decreased from 36 to 24 points (on a scale of –100 to +100).

The decline is mainly caused by a less favorable evaluation of the current business situation. Every 5th company reports that its business is not running well. Especially companies based in France are more pessimistic with regard to their current business. In line with the more critical situation, 40% of the European companies surveyed expect a decline in new orders within the coming 6 months, while only 16% foresee further increases. However, only 15% of the surveyed companies expect a decline in turnover, while a clear majority of 85% continue to forecast growth or at least a stable trend.

The regional breakdown on the market side indicates that some of the large markets such as Germany, France and Italy are losing some momentum. The representatives of the European industry look nonetheless forward with confidence to the full year of 2023: the survey participants expect for their company on average still an increase in turnover of +5%.