How is the IT asset disposition and electronics recycling doing as we close the year 2023? What is certain is that by the time industry stakeholders took our third quarter survey, they already had clear visibility on how the year will end. And I can say that one way of describing the ending is that the glass is both half full and half empty. Half full, because many ITADs, if not most, may have met their revenue targets. Half empty because profitability projections may not have been met. So most in the industry will probably move to 2024 largely unscathed and likely ready to fight another year, but there are not enough profits to say real value was created during the year and so goes the year-end bonuses.
We are seeing strengthening positive sentiments about the next 12 months, but we are also seeing a scaling back of spending intentions, and even an increase in layoffs, as ITADs, just like most others sectors, do not have definite visibility on 2024: the way drivers and inhibitors will interact in 2024 brings a great sense of uncertainty: will Windows 11 and the promises of AI be enough to convince businesses to refresh their hardware? Will China deploy an effective economic stimulus package to get its economy back on track? Will global geopolitical issues, from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, to the US elections negatively weight on the economy? Will consumers’ struggle in the face of a tough economy lead to more trouble? And the list goes on.
