CECE CONGRESS 2000

Committee for European Construction Equipment
Congress 2000

The main news from the Congress was the agreement to use EMI / Hargrove & Associates Inc software for the CECE managed worldwide statistics: compaction, wheel and tracked excavators and lattice boom machines. This means the same software system will be used for all worldwide statistics - a boon to manufacturers with various products who currently use two different packages. iSTAT, being prepared for CECE, is new generation internet based software - built to be more responsive, secure, easier and more powerful. The system is based on model chart information and data can be entered on the internet to be stored on the HAI server. However, participants can still report on paper, via the CECE statistical office in Frankfurt, if they wish. The new system should be in place shortly.

Special meetings were held during the Congress on setting up worldwide retail reporting. Reliable retail reports have been the stated aim of the statistical committees for some years. It is generally agreed that retail data gives more accurate information than shipments, thereby helping to prevent overstocking. The value of shipment numbers is debased because the machines reported are new inventory sent to distributor depots which may then be moved on to several countries, whereas retail statistics give sales numbers to end users. However, they are more complicated to compile and can take longer to collect. For the first time, it appears that concrete progress will be made towards the goal of retail reporting - definitions are being drawn up to decide on the best sources for the data and companies are being encouraged to examine their internal reporting practices.

The World Trade Committee discussed trends affecting world trade such as the increasing strength of the multi nationals, the growing strength of rental companies, the use of the internet for sales and marketing and plant theft. However, the subject that dominated was the problem of non compliant imports into Europe. Charts based on official Korean and Japanese export statistics demonstrated in a stark manner that numbers of excavators exported to Europe had increased, whereas prices of machines per ton had proportionately decreased.

Some 42% of the tracked and wheeled European market for excavators were exported from Japan and Korea. In the UK at least 50% of new machines were non compliant and the problem was spreading to mainland Europe. The failure of Member States to enforce CE mark legislation had resulted in a number of job losses. At the latest URO Auction 80% of new or nearly new machines were Japanese or Korean and were not CE marked. Various efforts to stem the flow have been made by the FMCEC and CECE over the last three years, including the registration of a Complaint with the European Commission against the UK authorities but with limited success.

It was agreed that the authorities should be alerted to imports which are not labelled as complying with the Engine Emissions Directive 97/68/EC, implemented in 1999 - the USA strictly enforces similar legislation to prevent illegal imports. Manufacturers also agreed to investigate the status of the engine labelling of non EU machines offered for sale at future auctions.

New Exchanges - Jacqui Nother-Smith, JCB and CECE Product Specialist for Backhoe Loaders, Telescopic Handlers and Rough Terrain Forklifts, will be working towards setting up an exchange for Micro Backhoes, as well as trying to progress European Retails and Flash Reports for Telescopic Handlers and Rough Terrain Forklifts.

Overview of World Markets - Presentations on the state of trade in Europe, North America and the Far East were received during the World Trade Committee for Intercontinental Associations. The presentation on Europe was given by the Chairman, Richard Sharp, JCB. Copies of the presentations are available from the Federation. For further information, contact Pam Hyde via pam@admin.co.uk.

Forget Fabrimetal - AGORIA is the new name. Fabrimetal - our counterparts in Belgium - have changed their name to Agoria. E-mail: info@agoria.be - Web Site: www.agoria.be