INTERNATIONAL: The €31bn/year worldwide wagon market will grow by 2·6% annually through to 2028, a slight slowdown compared to the last five years, German consultancy SCI Verkehr predicts in the 10th edition of its Freight Wagons — Global Market Trends study.
SCI reports ‘sharply increased’ purchase prices for wagons in the majority of markets recently, including Europe and North America.
Global developments have been uneven. Wagon production in Russia recovered in 2023 after a drop related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and there was a ‘strong upswing’ in India. However, the Chinese market has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
SCI expects to see further growth in the global market, although ‘the subdued economic outlook for the coming years’ means it will be less dynamic than in 2018-23, and it predicts that the OEM market will develop less than the aftersales business.
