US crane buyers have indicated that they are unlikely to visit the Intermat construction exhibition, being held in Paris, France this month.
Prime reasons offered are economic circumstances and residual anti-French resentment among many Americans. The general reluctance within the US business community to even step on an aeroplane – fearing terrorism, SARS or even deep vein thrombosis – is also contributing to a general desire to stay at home.
Were the crane economy in better shape, other factors would likely pale away. Crawler crane sales were down 30% in the USA last year, according to Manitowoc CEO Terry Growcock, and sales of hydraulic telescopic cranes are at their lowest ebb since the early 1980s recession.
Terex Cranes sales and marketing vice president Craig Lichty said he had never known the industry to be in such a bad shape. His boss, Fil Filipov, offered the view that it would now be 2006 before a recovery in the US market would be felt.
Both Terex and Manitowoc have invited US customers to attend the Intermat exhibition in Paris but have found very little take up. Liebherr, too, is finding few takers for the trip.
Although economic health appears to be the prime reason, there is definite anti-French sentiment in the USA as a result of the position taken by the French government over Iraq, and France’s opposition to US-led military intervention.
One major crane buyer said that he was not even drinking French wine any more and certainly would not consider buying a Potain tower crane, for example, even though the company is now owned by Manitowoc.
