Home » News & Resources » PowerTracker™ NA Reports

Quarterly PowerTracker™ Report
Looks at NA Gen-Set Market

PowerTracker™ North America is a proprietary quarterly report provided to subscribers that outlines the short term view of the engine-powered generator set (gen-set) market in the United States and Canada.

The reports presented here are high level summaries of the detailed reports that are available for purchase. For details visit the PowerTracker Products Page.

PowerTracker Summary Q3 2021: Gen-Set Sales Growth Constrained by Supply Chain Delays

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM survey of dealers and distributors reported that overall gen-set sales increased in Q3 2021 up 4.3% from Q2 2021 levels.  This builds on a sales increase of 6.8% in Q2 2021 and a slower start to the year of -7.4% in Q1 2021 as sales were constrained by availability and supply issues. 

This quarter’s results were based on interviews with 110 gen-set dealer and distributor respondents based in North America. The overarching theme in the third quarter was a continuation of sales growth being constrained by the availability and supply of gen-sets.  Longer lead times for dealers to receive shipments is limiting their sales – even though demand from end users remains at high levels. 

The data comes from the proprietary PowerTrackerTM series of syndicated surveys conducted each quarter by Power Systems Research. Each quarter we interview gen-set dealers and distributors and other businesses across North America to maintain a pulse on the sales channels as well as monitor the ongoing needs and plans for businesses to purchase standby gen-sets to support their business operations.

Read More›

Gen-Set Sales Plateau as Supply Chain Catches Up in Q1 2021

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM dealer and distributor survey of 200 respondents reported that overall gen-set sales declined in Q1 2021 down 7.4% from Q4 2020 levels.  This decrease follows three consecutive quarters in 2020 where dealers reported overall sales increases of 4.5% in Q2 2020 followed by 11.9% in Q3 2020 and 6.3% in Q4 2020.

Although sales were down 7.4% in the first quarter, the results were unique in that there was a different story depending on the fuel and power range being considered.

The data comes from the proprietary PowerTrackerTM series of syndicated surveys conducted each quarter by Power Systems Research. A total of 300 interviews are completed each quarter with gen-set dealers and distributors and businesses across North America.

Read More›

NA Gen-Set Sales Climb in Q4 2020

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM dealer and distributor survey of 200 respondents reported that overall gen-set sales continued a positive trend in Q4 2020 up 6.3% from Q3 2020 levels.  Sales gains could have been even higher because dealers ran out of inventory. This increase follows a slow start to the year in Q1 2020 where overall dealer reported sales were down 9.8% from Q4 2019 levels followed by successive increases of 4.5% in Q2 2020 and 11.9% in Q3 2020.

Although sales were up 6.3% for the fourth quarter, the results were unique in that there was a different story depending on the fuel and power range being considered.  The quarterly sales increase was anchored by abnormally high increases for gaseous fueled units in the 10-50 kW range and moderate to large decreases in the other power ranges of gaseous fuels as well as diesel fueled sets.

The data comes from the proprietary PowerTrackerTM series of syndicated surveys conducted each quarter by Power Systems Research. A total of 500 interviews are completed each quarter with gen-set dealers and distributors and businesses across North America.

Read More›

PowerTracker™ Report: Gen-Set Sales Rebound in Q3 2020

Joe Zirnhelt
Joe Zirnhelt

SUMMARY: Our PowerTrackerTM dealer and distributor survey of 200 respondents reported that gen-set sales recovered some momentum in Q3 2020 up 11.9% from Q2 2020 levels.  This increase follows a slow start to the year in Q1 2020 where overall dealer reported sales were down 9.8% from Q4 2019 levels and Q2 2020 where we observed a quarterly increase of 4.5% over the low Q1 2020 levels.

The only part of the market that seemingly did not recover in Q3 2020 was the diesel <20 kW with -8.3% for <10 kW and -3.6% for 10-20 kW.  The remainder of diesel (>20 kW) had single digit quarterly increases across the power ranges.  The gaseous fueled gen-sets had the most significant rebound this quarter with all power ranges up to 500 kW with a greater than 10% quarterly change – helping to offset the weak first half of 2020 as concerns and shutdowns ensued over COVID-19.

Read More›

PowerTracker™ Report Q2 2020: Coronavirus Generates its Own Demand

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q2 2020 rose 4.5% from Q1 2020, due to the combination of a halting recovery from the coronavirus shutdowns and new demand generated by COVID-19. While “normal” demand for generators is still weak, evidenced by continuing declines in the power ranges above 50kW, it is being offset by new demand in the power ranges below 50kW. These changes were directionally consistent across fuel types.

Looking by application, Portables and Standbys were slightly positive, while Temporary, Peak Shaving, Baseload, and Cogeneration were all negative by double digits compared to Q1 2020. This translated into a 5% increase in sales to Private consumers, and about 6% decreases in Institutional and Industrial sales.

On a Year-on-Year basis, overall unit sales for Q2 2020 were up 1% compared to sales levels in Q2 2019, with Q1 2020 having almost completely wiped out the gains earned in Q3 2020 of last year.

Read More›

Pandemic Leads to Accelerating Losses For NA Gen-Set Dealers in Q1 2020

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q1 2020 fell 9.8% from Q4 2019, as the United States faces perhaps its most serious economic and public health crisis since the Great Depression. No power range was immune to the decline.

Sales in the 51-100kW range dropped 13%, the largest drop of any range, while the 101-300kW range faired the best, only shedding 6.5% of sales from Q4 2019.

The losses were felt fairly evenly across applications, with temporary power falling the least at 7%, and standbys the most at 10%. Looking by customer type, commercial sales had their worst first quarter in at least the last five years, falling by 9.5%.

Read More›

PG&E Blackouts Lead to Best Fourth Quarter for Mid-Range Power in Five Years

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q4 2019 rose 3.5% from Q3 2019, driven primarily by growth in the middle power ranges. The 21-50kW range experienced the fastest growth at 7.5%, followed by 10-20kW at 3.7% and 101-300kW at 3.5%.

When looking at this growth by application, we see that standbys were the only application to experience meaningful growth this quarter, ending with a strong 7.5% increase. Unlike previous quarters, this increased demand came from more than residential consumers. Institutional and industrial consumers increased their demand by 2.5% and 3.75%, respectively. This is the strongest fourth quarter showing for these consumer types in the last five years.

Read More›

Winter is Coming…(and Consumers are Ready). Q3 2019 Report

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q3 2019 rose 7% from Q2 2019, due to a continued strong demand for standby power systems. Standby systems in both the residential and commercial sectors drove the 7% growth (the highest QoQ growth of the year so far), with the 10-20kW range increasing sales by nearly 12% and the 21-50kW, 51-100, and 101-300kW ranges growing 5-7%.

On a Year-on-Year basis, overall unit sales for Q3 2019 were up 2.9% compared to sales levels in Q3 2018.

Read More›

Seasonal Trends Drive Strong Q2 2019

SUMMARY: Gen-set sales in Q2 2019 rose 4.3% from Q1 2019, due to increases in commercial demand and demand for standbys that are typical for Q2 as construction season and hurricane season begin. Broken out by kW range, sales increases were on the lower end of normal in the 51-100kW and 101-300kW ranges, but overall sales were still driven by typical growth in the 101kW-1MW ranges, typical of the construction season.

Read More›

Gen-Set Data

Several purchasing options are available for PowerTracker™ NA. Annual subscriptions to targeted data extracts.

Learn More

Let’s Talk

Whether you want to drive growth, improve efficiency, or simply outpace competitors, you can do it with market solutions from Power Systems Research. We combine information, analysis, and expertise to help you make intelligent market decisions and avoid mistakes. How can we help you?