Macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions
Macroeconomic conditions*
According to the forecast published by the World Bank in June 2025, global economic growth will weaken further over the course of 2025. The World Bank now expects a slowdown to just 2.3 percent, following global growth of 2.8 percent in 2024. This correction is primarily due to increasing trade barriers, ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, and muted investment activity by companies. Advanced economies are particularly affected, with high interest rates, poor productivity gains, and structural challenges acting as an additional brake on growth. Global inflation is expected to average 2.9 percent owing to persistent wage pressures and higher trade costs. Consequently, many central banks are continuing to exercise caution with regard to monetary policy (World Bank, June 2025).
Economic growth of 1.2 percent is predicted for the advanced economies in 2025. At 0.7 percent, growth in the eurozone is anticipated to recover only moderately, while growth of 1.4 percent is forecast for the USA. The emerging markets and developing economies are expected to generate economic growth of 3.8 percent; among these, China’s growth could slow to 4.5 percent. Faltering exports, weaker domestic demand, and structural challenges are restricting the Chinese economy’s growth potential (World Bank, June 2025).
Sectoral conditions
Sales markets
According to the KION Group, order numbers in the global market for industrial trucks were up year on year in the first half of 2025. Official figures for the growth trend in the overall market for industrial trucks in the second quarter of 2025 were not available at the time this report was published, however.
The official figures show that global order numbers rose substantially in the first quarter of 2025. New orders in the EMEA region were slightly higher than in the prior-year period, whereas the APAC region registered significant growth. The Americas region saw a sharp rise in order numbers. Worldwide order numbers in the counterbalance truck market rose sharply year on year, although for IC trucks, order numbers were down slightly. Warehouse trucks registered strong growth, mainly due to exceptional demand for entry-level models. Because the average price of warehouse trucks is significantly lower than that of counterbalance trucks, the growth in global order numbers is not reflected in the change in the value of the market. According to the KION Group, the growth in value of the overall market for industrial trucks (as measured by order intake) was therefore below the growth in order numbers during the reporting period (World Industrial Trucks Statistics, July 2025).
According to the KION Group, and backed up by data from market research institute Interact Analysis, the global market for warehouse automation solutions (measured by order intake in the project business) was muted in the first half of 2025. Capital expenditure on automated distribution centers and the modernization of existing warehouses and storage facilities had a positive impact on demand. At the same time, economic uncertainties, delayed investment decisions, and weaker demand for mobile automation solutions led to noticeable hesitancy. Moreover, customers had brought forward the awarding of projects in 2024, which depressed order intake in the reporting period. New trade barriers brought about by US trade policy also weighed on companies’ willingness to invest (Interact Analysis, May and June 2025).
* The commentary on macroeconomic conditions in this interim report is based on the World Bank’s latest forecasts. Recent data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not yet available at the time this interim report was prepared, so it was not possible to take this into account. Given the differences in the methodologies used, the macroeconomic key figures reported here are not directly comparable with the information provided in the 2024 annual report on the basis of IMF data.