Construction boom to drive growth in transport equipment business

MANILA, Philippines - Local truck body builder Centro Manufacturing Corp. is optimistic in the growth of the transport equipment business this year amid an increased demand seen in construction investments.

In a statement yesterday, Vic Belisario, sales manager of Centro Manufacturing, said the prolonged construction boom in the country is seen to support the transport industry.

He cited that analysts view the sharp increase in public construction investment which started in the last quarter of 2011, would encourage the government to continue to boost infrastructure spending this year.

The higher government spending on infrastructure, he said, would result in overall construction growth rate of 6.6 percent this year.

“With this development, we expect the demand for truck, earth moving and other transport equipment to increase,” he said.

“Factor in the increases in call centers, overseas Filipino workers’ remittances, hotel or condo or office constructions and domestic trade transactions, not only is the truck market expected to increase but the truck-mounted equipment market as well,” he said further.

Data from the National Statistics Office showed that domestic trade transactions which flowed through the transport system was up 4.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

It was estimated that 4.73 tons of commodities worth P131.4 billion were traded through the transport system.

The land-sea combined mode of transport accounted for 99.8 percent of the trade movements.

The top three commodities transported were food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment as well as manufactured goods.

For his part, Centro Manufacturing president Raphael T. Juan said given the big volume and the nature of the domestic commodities that have to be moved for distribution in the country, there is a need for truck operators to decrease their turnaround time to increase productivity and income.

“This means they must be able to find a way to load and unload commodities faster and with less manpower, if possible,” he said.