ANALYSIS: Heterogeneous evolution of the hardware systems market

The local market of hardware systems created for fitting in thermal insulating assemblies recorded in the recent years significant changes in structural terms that are not obvious from a simple quantitative or value-based analysis of imports. Given that the production of such systems has a minor impact on the amount of total consumption, the data concerning the deliveries made by external producers are highly relevant. However, the element that makes the difference in the present time is represented by the types of systems currently available on the local market. It is also interesting to research more carefully the distribution of imports by country of origin. Finally, if we take into account the reality of the claim made by many companies that, due to a malfunction of the customs system in Romania, the market is replete with products which are non-compliant in terms of provisions of European standards, it is clear that the overall picture is more complex than that one reflected by the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The statistical data, which represent the only source of official information show that, last year, the imports of hardware systems have increased by 11% compared to 2012, which could be considered good news, if all the other items previously mentioned are ignored. It is remarkable that, from all the communicated values, a significant decrease appears in the average price down to the threshold of 4,000 EUR / tonne which confirms the theory and indicates that quality is sacrificed in order to obtain simplified products. In fact, this trend has been installed since 2009 (the difference being of almost 25%) and it is difficult to estimate when this indicator will stabilize. In what concerns the country of origin of exporters, Turkey and Hungary occupy the top two positions, with weights of 28%, while Germany follows in third place (though the country still dominates the market in terms of value). Depending on the current trend, it is possible that the differences might grow, mainly due to the net competitive advantage on the price plan that the Turkish companies have.