A Manitowoc MLC650 crawler crane with proprietary Variable Position Counterweight technology

Sales for the crane business of Manitowoc Co Inc declined 7% to USD569.2 million for the third quarter ended 30 September - down from USD610.2 million in the comparable 2013 period.

"We were clearly disappointed with our performance," says Glen E Tellock, chairman, chief executive officer and president. "Our crane revenue was impacted by soft rough-terrain (sales) in boom truck markets in North America as well as ongoing weakness in Latin America" and softness in Europe.

In separate business segments, Manitowoc makes crawler cranes, tower cranes and mobile cranes for the heavy construction industry and manufactures and markets commercial foodservice equipment. During the quarter, the foodservice segment "experienced tepid demand", particularly in the Asia Pacific market, Tellock reports.

Tellock says about the crane segment: "Consistent with previous quarters, ongoing global demand pressures, slower-than-anticipated recovery in the non-residential construction markets and lack of confidence in macroeconomic improvement continue to negatively impact revenue."

New crane orders increased 24% year-on-year, driven primarily by success with new products such as the Manitowoc MLC650 and MLC300 crawler cranes with proprietary Variable Position Counterweight technology.

The Manitowoc-based company projects that its full-year 2014 crane segment sales will decline in the mid-to-high single-digit percentages as compared to the 2013 results.

"We are operating in an unpredictable and stagnant global economy," Tellock says. "While we can't control the broader markets, we will make opportunistic investments where we see the best areas for growth."

For the entire company's third quarter results, Manitowoc reports profit of USD73.1 million on sales of USD986.3 million versus profit of USD52.9 million on sales of USD1.01 billion for the comparable 2013 period.