FOREST MACHINES INDUSTRY NEWS


More efficient forwarders shrink the market


T


he conclusion of a review of the past six years’ registrations of forwarders in Sweden has concluded


that the market is shrinking – the average reduction is 16%. Manufacturers can see several reasons and the trend also applies to harvesters.


“The machines are becoming more efficient, with a higher utilisation rate and longer lifespan,” explained Rolf Andersson, CEO of Rottne. “Because the felling volumes stay relatively constant from year to year, fewer machines are required.”


The trend is also apparent in the after-market. Previously, it was common to do welding repairs on frames and centre pivots, but stronger constructions now mean that welding is rarely done whatever the brand of machine. Other factors are also at work. Peter Hasselryd, CEO of Komatsu Forest, believes that the proportion of final felling done has been unusually high. “We’ve sold fewer, but larger machines,” he said, pointing to upcoming production increases at the Södra Värö and SCA Ortviken pulp mills. “The


a 30% market share and that’s where we are now.”


forestry companies may have temporarily reduced their thinning operations in order to save their thinner stock until the new mills come on line.”


A third explanation is that the banks are making greater demands for financing forest machines and contractors are therefore delaying replacing their machines. “This is fundamentally a sound development that can give contractors a stronger economic situation,” claimed Martin Bredenfeldt, CEO of Gremo. New registrations of forwarders fell by 5% in 2015, from 301 to 287 machines. John Deere retook first place with 127 registered


forwarders, a market share of 44.3%.


“We were right in the middle of changing our product range in 2014 and had eight months’ delivery time for some models,” explained Dieter Reinisch of John Deere. “Now, the new models are in place and the statistics are showing that.”


Komatsu Forest was the top- selling brand in Sweden in 2014. Last year, the company fell back from 101 to 85 forwarders sold. The move does not worry Sales Manager Peter Hasselryd. “2014 was a good year with successful launches of new models,” he stated. “Over time, we’ve had


Number of registered forwarders in Sweden in 2015 by manufacturer Manufacturer


John Deere Komatsu Rottne Ponsse EcoLog Gremo Logset


Tigercat Total


12 Spring 2016


2015 127 85 29 26 14 5 1 0


287 %


44.3 29.6 10.1 9.1 4.9 1.7 0.3 0.0


2014 94


101 34 41 11 12 1 7


301 %


31.2 33.6 11.3 13.6 3.7 4.0 0.3 2.3


Gremo was among those that lost the most. According to the official statistics, four Gremo forwarders were registered in 2015. The company claimed it sold seven machines, but even that is nearly a 50% reduction compared with 2014’s sale of 12 machines. “We’ve cut back on our operations and have reached our planned level,” said Martin Bredenfeldt. “Seventy to 75% percent of our production goes to export, mainly within Europe.” Another explanation for the shrinking market could be the successes of small professional machines, which are not registered with the Swedish Transport Agency, but the manufacturers say this competition has a marginal effect. “We’re feeling this impact mostly on our smallest model among the independent larger private forest owners,” explained Rolf Andersson of Rottne. During the period 2013-2015, an average of 282 forwarders was registered each year. The average for the previous three-year period was 335, meaning that the market has shrunk by 16%.


Number of registered forwarders in Sweden by year


Year 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005


Number 287 301 257 335 358 313 258 353 382 299 353


Both these sets of figures were compiled by Elmia AB from information supplied by the Swedish Transport Agency. 12


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