The "2025 China Mobile Source Environmental Management Annual Report," recently released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, provides the latest "health check" on my country's mobile source air pollution emissions. Unlike the previous perception that "it's mainly about cars," this annual report clearly shows that non-road mobile sources are rapidly moving from "behind the scenes" to the forefront in terms of key pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Construction machinery on construction sites, forklifts in factories and ports, and tractors in agricultural fields are now, along with trucks and buses on the roads, forming a new focus in China's battle for blue skies.
Against the backdrop of the "dual carbon" goals and industrial transformation and upgrading, mobile source management is no longer solely the responsibility of transportation management departments, but is closely linked to industrial enterprises, park operators, engineering contractors, and equipment manufacturers. How to reduce emissions through electrification, clean energy, and intelligent technologies while ensuring efficiency and safety will directly impact the product structure and market landscape of the forklift and construction machinery industries. The signals released by this annual report are worth serious consideration by industry professionals.
Non-Road Sources Become the "Main Battlefield" for NOx and PM
The annual report shows that the total emissions of pollutants from mobile sources nationwide in 2024 were 18.582 million tons, of which HC, NOx, and PM accounted for 2.274 million tons, 9.019 million tons, and 0.265 million tons, respectively.
Of these, motor vehicles emitted 12.856 million tons, still the main source of CO and HC. However, in the more critical indicators of NOx and PM, which are highly correlated with ozone and fine particulate matter, the proportion of non-road mobile sources is already very significant.
The latest calculations provided in the annual report show that the total emissions of pollutants from non-road mobile sources nationwide in 2024 were 5.726 million tons, of which HC accounted for 0.434 million tons, NOx for 4.867 million tons, and PM for 0.229 million tons. Construction machinery, agricultural machinery, ships, railway diesel locomotives, and aircraft accounted for 26.2%, 34.1%, 35.0%, 3.0%, and 1.7% of non-road NOx emissions, respectively; and 32.3%, 34.9%, 29.3%, 2.2%, and 1.3% of PM emissions, respectively. Undoubtedly, non-road mobile sources, along with road vehicles, are becoming a major battleground for emission reduction.
Construction Machinery and Forklifts: The "Third Pole" of Emissions Emerges
Construction machinery is a key focus of emission monitoring among non-road sources. The report breaks down 2024 emissions by machine type: excavators accounted for 42,000 tons of HC, 498,000 tons of NOx, and 41,000 tons of PM; loaders accounted for 40,000 tons of HC, 466,000 tons of NOx, and 24,000 tons of PM; and forklifts accounted for 13,000 tons of HC, 213,000 tons of NOx, and 8,000 tons of PM. Emissions from other bulldozers, road rollers, pavers, and graders were relatively small.
Structurally, excavators and loaders undoubtedly constitute the first tier of construction machinery emissions, but forklifts have firmly established themselves as the "third pole" of NOx emissions. Considering that forklifts are highly concentrated in construction sites, port terminals, steel and manufacturing parks, their emissions are likely to have a magnified impact on local ozone and PM?.? levels. The statistics send a clear signal: forklifts are no longer just "small equipment" outside of road traffic control, but a crucial component included in the national emission reduction plan.
From National IV Standards to Low-Emission Zones: Regulation is Tightening
Regarding the management of newly produced non-road machinery, the annual report shows that in 2024, 1,048 non-road mobile machinery enterprises publicly disclosed 8,136 models meeting National IV emission standards, including 880 forklift models, bringing the cumulative number of National IV emission forklift models to 3,776.
At the individual machine level, in the same year, 900 enterprises uploaded information on 1.695 million non-road machines meeting National IV emission standards, including 227,000 forklifts, 136,000 excavators, 62,000 loaders, and 330,000 tractors. This set of data indicates that non-road mobile machinery is undergoing a comprehensive regulatory process similar to that of heavy-duty diesel vehicles, from machine type to individual unit, and from paper-based to online monitoring: on the one hand, emission standards have fully entered the National IV era; on the other hand, through coding registration and networked monitoring, every piece of equipment is being "identified by real name."
In terms of in-use management, as of the end of 2024, 326 cities (regions) nationwide have designated low-emission control zones for non-road mobile machinery, conducting environmental information disclosure and verification, coding registration, and random testing of smoke opacity and fuel quality within these zones.
For equipment such as forklifts, loaders, and construction cranes that burn fossil fuels, this means that future access to core urban construction sites, ports, and industrial parks will depend not only on safety and efficiency, but also on whether emissions meet standards and whether information is complete.
Several implications for forklifts and construction machinery:
This annual report sends several important signals:
Firstly, the battlefield of the national blue sky protection campaign is extending from "roads" to "sites." In the past, mobile source management focused more on trucks, buses, and passenger cars; now, the policy perspective has clearly shifted to construction sites, factories, ports, industrial parks, and farmlands. As a major emitter among these, the market share of internal combustion forklifts will be further compressed, and they will be gradually replaced by clean energy equipment in more scenarios in the future.
Secondly, the status of forklifts has been significantly "elevated." Forklifts are listed separately in construction machinery emissions, and the number of forklifts among National IV models and single-unit information uploads is prominent, indicating that management departments have placed forklifts at the same level of attention as excavators and tractors. This means stricter regulation, but also more opportunities for relevant enterprises to receive attention in policy communication, technological routes, and demonstration projects.
Thirdly, product competition is upgrading to "green + intelligent." Against the backdrop of the continuous expansion of low-emission control zones and the gradual implementation of policies to eliminate old equipment, simply relying on traditional internal combustion forklifts and conventional construction machinery will make it difficult to meet future bidding and project entry requirements. For complete machine manufacturers and system integrators, clean energy products such as electric, hydrogen fuel, and hybrid power need to be designed in conjunction with scheduling systems, energy consumption and emission online monitoring, and packaged into a comprehensive solution for "quantifiable emission reduction." Fourth, internal material handling and related application scenarios are experiencing structural opportunities. Ports, steel mills, railway yards, airports, and large industrial parks are not only areas with high concentrations of off-road emissions but also the most active stages for smart warehousing and mobile robot applications. Developing integrated projects around these scenarios, encompassing "electric forklifts + automated guided vehicles + intelligent warehousing systems + carbon emission management," will become a crucial lever for Chinese companies to participate in the restructuring of global green supply chains.
Overall, the annual report has included off-road mobile sources, especially construction machinery and forklifts, as core targets for air pollution control and green development. For the Chinese forklift and mobile robot industry chain, the key to high-quality development in the next stage is to build comprehensive competitiveness based on electrification and intelligence, and to transform from traditional emission sources into providers of environmentally friendly, systematic emission reduction solutions.
