Excavators are a type of engineering machinery that can be divided into super-large excavators, large excavators, medium excavators, small excavators and mini excavators according to tonnage and demand. Super-large excavators are mainly used in mining and rock crushing fields, with concentrated application areas and strong cyclical fluctuations. Medium and large excavators are mainly used in large-scale infrastructure fields such as cities, roads and bridges, and are affected by the overall infrastructure demand. Small and mini excavators are mainly used for small-scale projects such as agriculture, forestry and greening, with a wide range of application areas.
Current situation of the excavator industry
-
Excavator production In terms of domestic excavator production changes, the overall domestic excavator production benefited from the overall demand growth and showed a steady growth trend in the past. The production volume exceeded 400,000 units in 2020. Affected by the repeated epidemic situation and the sluggish domestic excavator demand and high inventory, the overall production volume experienced two consecutive years of decline in 2021-2022. Data show that China’s excavator production volume was 362,000 units and 307,000 units respectively in 2021 and 2022. The production volume was 75,000 units in the first quarter of 2023, down 24.9% year-on-year.
-
Excavator sales In terms of overall sales changes of excavators, China’s overall sales of excavators continued to rise before 2021, mainly driven by the continuous growth of domestic demand and the continuous improvement of international competitiveness leading to the continuous increase of export volume. The sales volume declined for the first time in nearly ten years in 2022, only 261,300 units, down 23.8% year-on-year, mainly affected by the weak domestic real estate demand and the decline of overall infrastructure prosperity. The overall sales volume of excavators was 57,400 units in the first quarter of 2023, and the demand has not yet recovered, and the sales volume is lower than expected.
-
Excavator model structure In terms of domestic excavator machinery structure, medium-sized and small-sized excavators have wider uses and fields, and have higher sales share. Data show that China’s small-sized, medium-sized and large-sized excavator sales were 98,000 units, 34,000 units and 19,400 units respectively in 2022, down 39.8%, 55.8% and 42.3% year-on-year respectively compared with 2021. The overall sales volume of medium-sized excavators declined the most, and the market share dropped to 22.7%, basically occupied by small-sized excavators.
-
Excavator export volume In terms of China’s export volume changes of excavators, domestic overall demand for excavators declined, while international epidemics repeated superimposed domestic excavator manufacturers’ strong willingness to ship goods. China’s overall export volume of excavators continued to grow. Data show that China’s export volume of excavators reached 109,500 units in 2022, accounting for 41.9% of China’s overall sales volume of excavators. In terms of the first quarter of 2023, domestic sales volume is still in a downward trend, and the overall export share ratio further increased to occupy 49.8% with an export volume of 28,600 units.
Competitive landscape of excavators - Sany Heavy Industry In terms of China’s competitive landscape of excavators, ten years ago China’s excavator market was mainly dominated by brands from Japan, South Korea, Europe and other developed countries. With the development of domestic brands, domestic share continued to increase and international competitiveness continued to improve. The export market gradually became an important component. At present, the main domestic brands of excavators are Sany Heavy Industry, Xugong Group (XCMG), Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., etc. Sany Heavy Industry ranked first in market share in China’s domestic market with about 28% in 2020 (according to public data), won the global sales crown for the first time (according to public data), overseas market sales exceeded 10 thousand units (according to public data), sales exceeded one million units in 2021 (according to public data), export volume exceeded 22 thousand units (according to public data), revenue from excavation machinery and exports in 2022 were 35.756 billion yuan and 18.08 billion yuan respectively, export scale further increased, export increase but overall revenue from excavation machinery declined indicating domestic sales volume declined significantly.
