VIEWPOINT: Tracking Trends

摘要

THIS ISSUE OF Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) features our annual Equipment Trends coverage (beginning on page 20). Each year, we ask major equipment manufacturers to share their insights into the biggest industry trends; factors impacting equipment design and sales; and outlook for the near future. In 2011, I began the Equipment Trends coverage in our Landscape and Irrigation magazine (now Landscape Business), and, after a few years, we decided to carry the format and concept over to OPE. Through the years, the format and questions have remained fairly similar, but I thought it would be interesting to see how the responses - and the industry - have changed. Without giving away too much about this year's trends coverage, I will say that, based on the bulk of this year's responses, battery-powered equipment and battery technology are at the forefront of industry trends right now (the word "battery" was mentioned 40 times total by this year's respondents). "Online sales of equipment" is also a trend at the forefront of this year's responses. Robotics and other advancements in technology are also popular talking points. By comparison, in 2011, our Equipment Trends coverage found the key "trends" at the time were items such as the recovering economy; high unemployment; rising gas prices; uncertainty in the industry; and the need for equipment that is more versatile, easier to maintain and more fuel efficient. Not surprisingly, in 2011, none of our respondents were talking about battery-powered equipment. However, in 2012, while most of our respondents said the key equipment trends that year were engine emissions, fuel efficiency and EFI technology, Lincoln Jore of CORE Outdoor Power said, "I believe that energy technology continues to improve in all related markets. So the natural progression for the professional OPE market will tend to follow the technology curve, which means you will see more and more professionals using less gas-powered equipment and more alternatively powered equipment." (Note: MTD, parent company of Cub Cadet, acquired CORE Outdoor Power in late 2014.)