Number of the Day

I have a strong feeling that we will see similar order intakes from other parts of the world & and different industries in the not so distant future…… I cannot help but somehow the erosion ( or implosion ) of the backlock from the homebuilders comes to my mind……. I assume we will see a comeback of "vendor financing" …… I have already heard chatter on this topic in several conference calls from GE, Siemens, Boeing, EADS etc…… Wouldn´t be the first time this "strategy" will be backfiring down the road….. But with very few companies having a strong balance sheet going into this long downturn there is at least some hope this won´t get out of control…. But with the culture to prefer short term gains still not dead ……

Reuters World number two truckmaker Volvo said on Tuesday deliveries had tumbled 21 percent year-on-year in November and that its order book was shrinking rapidly amid a sharp market contraction.

Volvo, whose brands include Renault, Nissan Diesel and Mack as well as its own name, said deliveries fell 42 percent in its biggest market, Europe, and 22 percent in North America.

Volvo has already suffered the effects of this decline, reporting in late October a 100 percent fall in order bookings after clearing its books of uncertain orders and cancellations ( see Number / Shocker Of The Day "Volvo New Truck Orders"….. ) . .

Volvo said a weak order trend from the third quarter had continued

with the number of cancelled orders in October and November eclipsing new orders by some 1,800 trucks in Europe.

"When we saw zero order intake in the third quarter, it looked like this couldn’t get any worse — but it has," said an analyst who asked not to be identified.

"A negative order intake in Europe, that probably had not been anticipated by the market."

To end on a positive note….. Volvo is up almost 4 percent on this kind of news ( and 30% from the bottom a few weeks ago ) and all competitors ( Scania, MAN, Daimler ) are also in the green…….