equipment trends

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) has released its fall quarterly forecast, predicting a strong finish to 2019 and growth in U.S. shipments of outdoor power equipment in 2020. “Our forecast indicates that 2019 will finish with moderate year-over-year growth in several key segments, and the industry will post more gains in 2020,” said Kris Kiser, President and CEO of OPEI. “We continue to see advances in commercial-grade mowers used by professionals, and battery/electric equipment continues to pace growth in consumer segments. As an example, 2019 will be the first year of more than 1 million battery/electric walk-behind mower shipments.” Kiser added that key macroeconomic indicators – GDP growth of 2%, dropping interest rates, and historic low levels of unemployment – bode well for another year of steady growth for the outdoor power equipment industry. “As we look to 2020, we’re predicting equipment shipments to post gains of 2% to 5%, depending on the category,” he said. Highlights of the fall OPEI forecast include: • Commercial mower (e.g., zero-turns, intermediate walk-behinds) shipments will grow 7% in 2019 over 2018. Forecast for 2020 is another growth year of 5%. • Handheld OPE shipments (e.g., chain saws, blowers, trimmers) will rebound in 2019, with 3% growth over 2018. Forecast for 2020 is another growth year of 2%. The driver of growth is cordless (battery-powered) products. • Wheeled OPE shipments (e.g. walk-behind mowers, consumer zero-turns, tillers) will be down 1% overall in 2019 over 2018, but are forecasted to rebound with 2% growth ...