Garden machinery, stable market in the first half of the year

Weather conditions affect the market of gardening and landscaping machines. After a start to the year characterized by high temperatures first and then by a winter resurgence, the spring season stabilized, alternating rainy precipitations with days of intense sunshine and thus favoring the development of plants. Sales, which in the first three months of the year had recorded an increase of 2% compared to the same period of 2023, slowed down slightly in the following two months due to heavy rains, then began to grow again in June with the recovery of the spring season. The data for the semester - processed by the Comagarden builders' association and the Morgan statistical survey group - indicate in the overall balance a result in line with that of the same period 2023 (+0.3%), albeit with significant increases for some typologies: lawnmowers grew by 7%, petrol brushcutters by 5.6%, brushcutters/line-trimmers by 11.7%. Blowers/vacuums grew by 4.3%, hedge trimmers by 9.7% and garden tractors by 13.5%, while chainsaws recorded a significant drop (-22.5%) and snow blowers - also in this case as a direct consequence of the anomalous heat – recorded a drop of 95.2%. The current sales trend suggests that by the end of the year there will be an overall growth in units sold of 2% compared to last year, with increases of around 6% for lawnmowers, 4% for brushcutters, 8 % for brushcutters/linetrimmers, and 7% for garden tractors. The weather trend may once again influence the end-of-year figure, which in recent days is causing concern due to water scarcity, especially in the southern areas of the country.