Since March of 2020, many industries have felt the backlash of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it had on the world. No one could have expected that countries would go into a lockdown and toilet paper would be sold out in stores.
However, the crane industry was not impacted as much by the COVID-19 pandemic as everyday life was. In fact, Manitex International, Inc. reported a consistent increase in articulated crane and aerial product orders at PM Group since COVID-19 related shutdowns began at the start of 2020.
Manitex anticipates a reported backlog of $68.0 million for the period that ended in Dec. 21, 2020, which documents a 34.7 percent growth from Sept. 30, 2020.
Furthering Manitex’s growth, the company reached a consolidated backlog of around $82.0 million as of Jan. 31, 2021. This point is the highest level the company has seen over the span of the last three years, despite the impact of the pandemic.
"Our strategy to focus on growth markets and streamline our businesses has resulted in a much stronger global organization," said Steve Filipov, chief executive at Manitex International. "We took decisive actions in the past 12 months to enable more meaningful participation in the growing global articulating crane market and reinforce our market-leadership position in straight-mast cranes.
“While COVID-19 still presents risk to our business in 2021, our growing backlog is indicative that we can expect a good year of growth this year with higher revenues. Going forward, higher volume, and favorable product mix should also contribute to margin improvement and cash flow generation consistent with our long-term targets."
- Pm Group’s backlog growth of $46.0 million, as of Jan. 31, 2021, is at 100 percent growth since Q2 2019 and represents 66 percent of Manitex’s consolidated backlog
- Manitex straight-mast crane products contributed to 23 percent of growth in backlog throughout January
- Valla, the company’s electric crane group, has already witnessed an increase in orders
Insight provided by Manitex International, Inc. and edited by Chantal Zimmermann.
