Markets in USA & Canada

摘要

Figures published during February recording industrial activity in the final weeks of 2005 showed that the old year ended strongly. Construction demand was maintained up to the end of the year. it continued during January - the seasonally adjusted total equalled the December figure - but there was a shift in emphasis. A slight fall in contracts for commercial non-residential building was offset by higher values in civil engineering. Commercial building contracts are expected to recover during the first half of the year. December sales of machine tools, a good indicator of investment levels in manufacturing, totalled dollar 311m, 30.8 percent higher than in November. This was the highest monthly value since September 2004. The high December figure helped to push sales for the whole year 8.4 percent above the total for 2004. Such an order rate is usually a reflection of steady profit levels, but a further factor has been influential in recent months: the forecast that high energy prices are here to stay. Rather than despairing at the impact that higher oil and gas prices have on their costs and sales prospects, the machinery sector's customers have responded constructively. They have rushed to install equipment designed for increased energy efficiency, and provided unexpected gains for the industrial equipment sector.