Chris Bryant, Columnist

Diggers Finally Feel the Earth Move

Though it's easier to post a big pickup when you start from such a low base.

April 25, 2017 at 11:47 AM UTC

Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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In a gold rush, mining is for muppets: the real profits are in pickaxes. While the past five years have been pretty tough for companies selling excavation, earth moving and crushing equipment, this week came signs we've reached a turning point. But though "global reflation” might be more than just an investment fad, capital goods company valuations already price in a lot going right.

Volvo AB’s construction equipment orders jumped by a third in the first quarter and Sandvik AB’s mining and rock-technology unit achieved a similar gain. "These are numbers that we haven't seen seen since the rise of China in the beginning of 2010" Sandvik's CEO Bjorn Rosengren said on an investor call. "We are in a sweet spot when it comes to equipment for the mining industry."