NEWS ROUND UP

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

More than 127,000 visitors attended the 2024 Intermat show in Paris in April, with 21% of those from outside of France. There were 1,065 exhibitors, including 68% non-French companies.

Chinese businesses again made a big impression at a major European construction show, with more than 290 exhibitors in Paris – more than a quarter of the total – and second only to the 350 French-based exhibitors. That compares with 89 Italian companies and the 59 from Germany.

This year’s Intermat took a different format from past shows, losing two days and running from Wednesday to Saturday.

That had an inevitable impact on visitor numbers, with the 127,500 figure a reduction of more than a quarter on the 173,300 in 2018 and the 183,000 from 2015. Despite that, the show was busy on each day.

In terms of visitors, the most-represented countries, apart from France, were Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the UK, Finland, North African countries and Turkey. More than 130 countries were represented.

The 2018 show reported 30% of visitors from outside of France, equating to around 52,000 professionals, which compares to the approximately 27,000 this year. Intermat has clearly become more of a French event, but still with significant numbers of external visitors and an international ‘feel’ in terms of scale, exhibitors and themes.

The show was successful in focusing on the issue of sustainability and decarbonisation, with multiple, high-level conference sessions on the topic as well as hundreds of new products powered by battery or other new power technologies. Intermat will next be held in Paris during April 2027.

TARIFFS WHAT HAPPENED?

The US government has announced that it is raising tariffs on a wide range of Chinese goods, including on materials and machinery used in the construction industry.

The Biden-Harris administration said that the increased tariffs would affect US$18 billion worth of imported Chinese goods with the aim of “protecting American workers and businesses”.

The tariffs will be placed on products including steel and aluminium, batteries for electric machinery, semiconductors, electric vehicles, critical minerals, solar cells, and shipto-shore cranes.

In a statement, the White House said, “For too long, China’s government has used unfair, non-market practices. China’s forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft have contributed to its control of 70%, 80% and even 90% of global production for the critical inputs necessary for our technologies, infrastructure, energy and healthcare – creating unacceptable risks to America’s supply chains and economic security.”

PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

OSHKOSH TO BUY SPAIN’S COMPACT SPECIALIST, AUSA

JLG’s owner, Oshkosh Corp, is to buy Spanish compact equipment specialist Ausa for €115 million (US$124 million). The deal will see the manufacturer become part of Oshkosh’s Access segment alongside aerial platform supplier JLG.

Ausa, which reported revenues of €132 million (US$143 million) in 2023, makes compact telehandlers, site dumpers and forklift trucks. It employs 350 people and has 600 dealers in 90 countries worldwide.

The purchase price is debt free and payable in cash. The two companies have previously worked together, with a 2020 agreement for Ausa to make JLG’s SkyTrak 3013 compact telehandler.

WHAT IT MEANS

The US government said the actions were “carefully targeted at strategic sectors”, which are the same areas where the government has already been supporting US businesses through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act.

The tariff increases, introduced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 include:

Steel and aluminium: Rate on certain products will increase from 0-7.5% to 25% in 2024.

Semiconductors: Increasing from 25% to 50% by 2025.

Electric vehicles (EVs): Increasing from 25% to 100% in 2024. Commenting on the increase, the White House said, “With extensive subsidies and non-market practices leading to substantial risks of overcapacity, China’s exports of EVs grew by 70% from 2022 to 2023 – jeopardizing productive investments elsewhere.”

Batteries, battery components and parts, and critical minerals: The tariff rate on lithium-ion EV batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024, while the tariff on lithium-ion non-EV batteries will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2026. The tariff rate on battery parts will increase from 7.5% to 25% in 2024.

Solar cells: The tariff rate will increase from 25% to 50% in 2024.

Ship-to-shore cranes: The tariff will rise from 0% to 25% in 2024.

The US imported $427 billion in goods from China in 2023 and exported $148 billion.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China’s government will “take all measures necessary to defend our rights and interests.” It said the tariff hike “will not only disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US, but also significantly drive up the cost of imported goods, inflict more loss on American companies and consumers.”

Economists have argued that the tariffs have little implication when it comes to inflation or GDP in either of the two countries, but that may change if new and stronger tariffs are implemented in the future. China will almost certainly retaliate with tariffs of its own and the situation serves to indicate the increasing tension between the two countries.

LARSEN & TOUBRO GROW

A strong Indian economy and the strengthening of physical and digital infrastructure in the country has helped the country’s biggest contractor, Larsen &Toubro, to grow further.

The company’s infrastructure projects division secured an order inflow of US$17.1 billion in the year to 31 March 2024, according to its latest financial results. That represented an increase of 22% on the previous year. The growth was attributed to capital expenditure by the Indian government and “continued buoyancy” in the Middle East region.

TECH MOVE FOR VOLVO CE

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has taken a 22% ownership stake in VizaLogix, a software-as-a-service company specialising in digital, brand-neutral solutions for machine monitoring, servicing and tech support. The OEM says that the deal fits with its strategy of growing services that customers are looking for, such as as digitisation and data. “Volvo CE recognises that services are growing to be just as important to fleets as their machines,” said Scott Young, head of region North America, Volvo CE.

BETTING BIG ON CHIPS

South Korea will pump 26 trillion won (US$19 billion) into its chip manufacturing businesses, as semiconductor firms race to build facilities.

The support aims to help South Korea keep up in areas like chip design and manufacturing. Countries around the world have been ploughing billions of dollars via grants and other means to support their own chip sectors. South Korea is already building a mega chip cluster in Yongin, touted as the world’s largest high-tech chipmaking complex to attract chip equipment and fabless companies.