Gasoline-Powered, Hand-Held Product Shipment Expected to Decline

The slow housing market is partly to blame for declining hand-held equipment sales, according to a new forecast from the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

The OPEI Forecast for Outdoor Power Equipment is based on OPEI’s econometric model of the industry. The statistical model links the industry with the national economy. The industry forecast is based on the outlook for the U. S. Economy prepared by the University of Michigan.

Despite strong national retail data for January, and expectations for significant real GDP growth during the first quarter, the prospects for outdoor power equipment will be dampened by the housing contraction that started in the fall. Housing starts, in the University of Michigan’s latest forecast, will decline by 14.4 percent from 2005 to 2007, while sales of existing single family homes will slip by 11.2 percent over that period.

In spite of a 4.3 percent contraction expected in 2006, hand held blower unit shipments will still remain above 2 million units. Growth during calendar year 2006 will retract 3.9 percent for backpack blowers, with a shipment level slightly above 550,000 units. Trimmer shipments are expected to remain above 6 million units in the face of an overall annual decline in 2006. During calendar year 2006, chain saw growth will experience a 6.3 percent decline.