According to the latest statistics of excavation machinery branch of China Construction Machinery Industry Association, in August 2021, 18075 sets of various excavation machinery products were sold, with a year-on-year decrease of 13.7%, and the growth rate has been negative for four consecutive months. In August, 9045 loaders of various types were sold, with a year-on-year decrease of 6.32%, of which 8202 loaders of 3 tons and above were sold, with a year-on-year decrease of 8.93%.
From January to August 2021, the cumulative total sales volume of excavators reached 259253 units, with a year-on-year increase of 23.2%, accounting for 79.1% of the annual sales volume in 2020, exceeding the annual sales volume of 235693 units in 2019. From January to August 2021, there were 102800 loaders, with a year-on-year increase of 18.1%, of which 94524 loaders of 3 tons and above were sold, with a year-on-year increase of 15.3%.
In August, the epidemic continued to disturb the economy. Although the national epidemic was gradually controlled in the latter half of the year, the uneven recovery of manufacturing profits, low domestic demand, tightening the margin of real estate regulation and other reasons continued to suppress the growth rate of manufacturing and real estate investment. Superimposed on the traditional off-season factors, early release of demand and high base in the same period in 2020, the sales volume of excavators in the domestic market in that month was 12349, It decreased by 31.7% year-on-year, with negative growth for five consecutive months, and the decline expanded again, showing a downward trend for three consecutive months. Although sales fell year-on-year, there was a slight increase of 0.2% month on month. In August, the domestic market sales volume of loaders was 6659 units, a year-on-year decrease of 15.1%, with negative growth for three consecutive months. Some analysts believe that the end market demand of excavator and loader industry rebounded significantly, and the industry inflection point may have arrived.
In view of the weak infrastructure investment, one of the reasons affecting the decline in the sales of excavators and loaders since the second quarter, after the Politburo meeting made clear the policy guidance of stabilizing infrastructure related financing and stabilizing the price of bulk industrial products, the issuance of special bonds was small and large in August, and the issuance of new special bonds was 422.8 billion yuan, higher than 340.4 billion yuan in July. At the end of August, the Ministry of finance again proposed to speed up the budget expenditure and the issuance of local government bonds in the second half of the year. Therefore, regardless of market performance or policy orientation, we have reason to believe that the progress of special bond issuance in the second half of the year will continue to accelerate, provide a certain supporting force for the infrastructure sector, and at the same time, it may drive the growth of excavator and loader sales to a certain extent.
In terms of export, the export sales volume of excavators in August was 5726. Under the condition that the year-on-year growth rate of export decreased for three consecutive months and narrowed slightly, the export growth rate of that month rebounded again, with a year-on-year growth of 100.0%, showing a strong performance, becoming the fifth month with a year-on-year growth rate of 100.0% since 2021. In August, the export sales volume of loaders was 2386, with a year-on-year increase of 31.4%. With the continuous repair of overseas demand and the improvement of the market competitiveness of domestic brands, the export market has become an important revenue growth point for the excavator and loader industry.
In terms of tonnage structure, the sales volume of large excavation (≥ 30t) in August was 1943 units, a year-on-year decrease of 23.6%; The sales volume of medium excavation (20 ~ 30t) was 3670 units, a year-on-year decrease of 31.9%; The sales volume of small excavation (< 20t) was 6736 units, a year-on-year decrease of 33.6%, and the total domestic sales volume of large, medium and small excavation decreased by 31.7%. The year-on-year growth of the three tonnage models in this month was negative, and the decline was more than 20%.
In terms of market share, large excavation, medium excavation and small excavation account for 16%, 30% and 54% respectively. Among them, the proportion of small excavation sales has been declining for three consecutive months. Nevertheless, the proportion of small excavation still leads with an absolute advantage.
The decline in sales growth of excavators and loaders for many consecutive months makes people feel the great pressure on the market at this stage. However, with the remaining issuance amount of special bonds in the second half of the year, it is expected to be issued in batches in September and December. Therefore, some organizations believe that this will stimulate the demand for construction machinery and equipment and support the stable growth of excavators and loaders in the second half of the year.
