Used Equipment Recovery Trends Report Q1 2015

Special Report: Cheap oil’s potential impact on the used equipment market

Automotive

U.S. car companies had their best January since 2006 as lower prices and rising consumer confidence led people to buy more vehicles. This should result in more production and more capital spending which will raise the tide of used equipment values in the metalworking and plastics space.

Construction

U.S. building materials companies that produce aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and cement should benefit from lower oil prices in 2015 which may lead to more cap ex spending.

Food and Agriculture

Oil is not a major contributor to costs and lower energy prices will have little effect on margins in the already strong food processing space. However, agriculture is heavily dependent on oil, both to power farm machinery and as an ingredient in the production of fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals. As a result, lower oil prices could signi!cantly lower agricultural operating costs. Agriculture asset spending should see an increase.

Plastics

Approximately 5% of the worldwide oil production is used to make plastics. Worldwide production of plastics is currently estimated at 265 million metric tons and growing. Low oil prices will help that. This should result in more production and more capital spending.

Transportation

Falling oil prices has the potential to shift more transportation activity to pipelines during the next two years, as falling oil production would ease transportation backlogs on pipelines. As a result, demand for railroad and tank trucking would decrease potentially creating a surplus of related assets.

Over 50 upcoming machinery & equipment sales scheduled for Q2 2015 in over 15 countries
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This report is a 12-week snapshot of the current used equipment market compiled by Hilco. The information comes from Hilco Industrial auction and liquidation results, information provided by our vast used dealer network and market research compiled by our staff.