Softening demand slows Q4 sales for JLG
12 February 2025
Softening demand and market moderation were key factors that impacted JLG’s fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results, said parent company Oshkosh Corp.
For the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2024, JLG posted total sales of $1.16 billion, reflecting relatively flat results compared to the company’s $1.15 billion in sales for the same period in 2023. While aerials saw a 1% increase in sales to $545.6 million, telehandlers took a -9% dip from $354.2 in 2023 to $322 million for 2024. This comes off a string of record-breaking quarterly sales results for JLG telehandlers.
Oshkosh’s access segment operating income also decreased in the fourth quarter of 2024, dropping down -11.9 percent to $142.9 million, or 12.4 percent of sales, compared to $162.2 million, or 14.1 percent of sales, in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to unfavorable price/cost dynamics offset in part by favorable product mix.
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“Our Access team delivered solid results in the fourth quarter despite moderating demand,” said Oshkosh CEO John Pfiefer. “We are confident that long-term drivers, including infrastructure buildout, mega projects and data center construction, remain strong for our Access business. We expect short-term market softness in the first half of 2025 followed by improved demand in the second half of the year, which we have factored into our expectations for the Access segment in 2025.”
Looking at JLG’s full-year 2024 results, total revenues rose by 3.5% to $5.16 billion, with aerials down 0.5% to $2.45 billion and telehandlers up 6% to $1.57 billion.
Additionally, JLG’s backlog for the full year dropped to $1.83 billion, down significantly from last year’s $4.53 billion.
“We’re seeing demand moderate in response to softer non-residential construction activity and elevated interest rates,” Pfeifer said during a recent investors call. “We anticipate lower sales in 2025, particularly in the first half of the year…We expect improving conditions in the second half of 2025, which are expected to provide momentum going into 2026. We ended the year with a healthy backlog at $1.8 billion, after booking orders of $856 million in the quarter. We continue to engage with customers on 2025 requirements and expect to book additional annual purchase orders in the first quarter. Furthermore, we remain confident in the market’s long-term health.”
Comparing rental channels and customer needs
Oshkosh said while fleet metrics in terms of fleet utilization is healthy, the company is factoring in non-residential construction, primarily private non-residential construction, which is currently “under a bit of pressure.”
“We’re seeing a lot more fleet replacement happening because fleets are still aged,” Pfeifer said, “but not so much fleet growth is happening.”
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Speaking to the equipment rental and access market as a whole, Oshkosh noted that demand varies vastly when it comes to the needs of larger nationals versus independents.
“The nationals tend to get the lion’s share of the mega projects that we all talk and hear about every day, and that’s real, and it’s continuing and it’s actually continuing to accelerate,” said Matt Field, Oshkosh’s CFO. “With the independents, it really is dependent upon the market that they’re serving, and some are serving markets that are very healthy, or they might be getting part of the big mega projects and others might be exposed to a lot of private construction where they’re under a little bit of pressure. So, it’s a bit inconsistent between some of the rental companies depending on the end market that they’re serving. I think the most important thing, though, is that equipment utilization is healthy.
“It’s come down from all-time highs, but it is at a healthy level. Our customers are comfortable with what their utilization rates are, and we think that 2025 is, again, mostly just pressured by private non-residential construction being off due to persistent interest rates where they are.”
Despite short-term pressures, Oshkosh expects demand for JLG products to improve in the latter half of 2025, aligning with broader construction trends. The company is projecting total JLG sales of approximately $4.4 billion for 2025, with an adjusted operating margin of 13%.
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