BUSINESSNEWS
13
INTERNATIONAL
ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
JANUARY 2015
Reviewof 2014
seriesof all-timehighs, taking it
above18,000points for the first
time. TheNikkei 225was also
strong,witha9.69% increase
to take it to someof thehighest
post-crisis levels it has seen.
Unlike theUSA, however, the
economicoutlook in Japan is
poor and thismarket recovery
isunlikely tobe sustained.
Itwas amixedyear for
cranemanufacturers. Somebig
losses in shareprices started
from themiddleof theyear as
manufacturers likeManitowoc
andTerex reporteddeclining
demand inmanykey emerging
markets. The strongest
performersweremajorChinese
groups, for example, Liugong,
SanyandXCMG.AtXCMG,
the sharepricemore than
Taken as awhole,
2014was a fairly
flat year for global
stockmarkets as
growth faltered in
the secondhalf.
The resurgence
of key Chinese
manufacturers’
equities, however,
lifted the crane
industry. CHRIS
SLEIGHT reports
doubled in2014, as it andmany
of itspeerswerepulledalongby
abigacross-the-board surge in
Chinese shareprices.Whether
this remarkablegrowth is
rooted inagenuine economic
recovery inChina, or if it is the
result ofmarket speculation
remains tobe seen, but the
overall effect providedagreat
boost to
IC
’s Share Index.
The
IC
Share Indexgrew just
shyof 20% last year, despite the
losses for keyplayers, including
Manitowoc, Palfinger and
Terex. There are twowaysof
reading this:One is that there
is agenuine recoveryon the
horizon, and that crane shares
rose inanticipation. Theother
is that last year’s growthwas
about stockmarket speculation.
Given thepatchynatureof
thegrowth, and the reported
weakness in endmarkets,
speculation looksmore likely.
Currencies
The economic recovery in the
USA, quantitative easing in
Japan, and theweakeningEuro-
zone economy,meant theUS
Dollar strengthened in2014. It
wasup14.7%against theYen
and12.3%against theEuro,
withmoremoderategains
against theUKPoundand
ChineseYuan.
Those losseswill be
welcomedby exporters in
Europe and Japanbecause
theywillmake theirproducts
moreprofitable inDollar
markets.With theUSFederal
Reserve likely to start raising
interest rates in2015, those
exchange ratedifferences could
continue togrow.
■
L
ast year startedbrightly
enough for theworld’s
stockmarkets.Muchof
thegrowth in the first half of
theyear, however,waswiped-
out lateronas global economic
growth slowed.
Had it not been for a rally
in the finalweeks, driven
by theunexpected fall inoil
prices, therewouldhavebeen
indicatorsother than theFTSE
100 ending theyear innegative
territory. That drop, however,
allowedmanykey indexes
to springback, and loweroil
prices couldbe akeydriverof
economicgrowth in2015.
The stand-out performance
last yearwas for theDow,
whichgained8.22% in2014
and ended theyear settinga
2014 ICSHARE INDEX
VALUE
VALUE
VALUE
CURRENCY
ATSTART
ATEND
CHANGE
%CHANGE
CNY
6.052
6.219989
0.1680
2.78
€
0.7346
0.8250
0.0903
12.29
Yen
104.54
119.90
15.36
14.70
UK£
0.6107
0.6455
0.0348
5.69
Period:Weeks 1 to52
EXCHANGERATES – VALUEOFUS$
PRICE
PRICE
PRICE
%
STOCK
CURRENCY
ATSTART
ATEND
CHANGE
CHANGE
IC
Share Index*
65.44
78.45
13.01
19.88
Legacy ICShare Index**
395.97
348.50
-47.48
-11.99
DowJones Industrial Average
16470
17823
1353
8.22
FTSE 100
6722
6566
-156
-2.32
Nikkei 225
15909
17451
1542
9.69
Hitachi ConstructionMachinery
YEN
2182
2591
409
18.72
Konecranes
€
25.97
23.98
-1.99
-7.66
KobeSteel
YEN
179
208
29
15.92
Liugong
CNY
5.95
11.78
5.83
97.90
Manitowoc
US$
23.46
20.31
-3.16
-13.45
Palfinger
€
29.73
20.40
-9.33
-31.37
SanyHeavy Industry
CNY
6.07
10.52
4.45
73.31
Tadano
YEN
1397
1487
90
6.44
Terex
US$
41.28
27.74
-13.55
-32.81
XCMG
CNY
7.23
15.00
7.77
107.47
YongmaoHolding
SGD
0.19
0.12
-0.07
-38.50
Zoomlion
CNY
5.16
6.99
1.83
35.37
*
IC
Share Index, 1 Jan2011 = 100
**Legacy
IC
Share Index, endApril 2002 (week 17) = 100
