Liebherr reported a strong fourth quarter for the mobile harbour crane market. “We have sold LHM equipment on every continent in the fourth quarter of 2020 and ended the year with an order intake slightly above the level of 2019,” says Andreas Müller, sales director of Liebherr mobile harbour cranes and reachstackers. He says the performance gives grounds for optimism and provides a good base to start in 2021.
“A stable order intake will be the goal and a challenge in the coming year – especially due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If we manage to achieve this, we should also achieve an increase in sales compared to 2020 – all in all, a positive forecast.”
At the beginning of 2020, Liebherr Mobile Harbour Cranes was able to rely on a strong order backlog, which was already built up in 2019. The first quarter of 2020 was also very positive, with several incoming orders. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2020, a decline in orders was definitely noticeable. This was strongly linked to the global pandemic and the resulting global lockdown.
However, current projects were not cancelled but postponed, the company notes. A degree of uncertainty was felt in the market, “but in this never-before-seen situation, this behaviour was quite understandable and comprehensible.” Liebherr also reports that it was able to maintain production, and suppliers have also been able to continue supplying the necessary parts during this period.
