The aerial work platform industry is regarded as one of the rare "Blue Ocean markets" in China's construction machinery sub industry. According to the statistics of China Construction Machinery Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as "the association"), 18877 lifting platforms of various types were sold in July 2022, with a year-on-year increase of 20.4%. From January to July 2022, 118365 aerial work platforms were sold, with a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. It is worth mentioning that in the first half of 2022, when the sales of construction machinery were generally depressed, it still maintained a positive growth.
The domestic market is stable, and the total sales volume continues to rise
According to the statistics of the association, from January to July 2022, compared with the same period of 2021, the sales volume of domestic aerial work platforms increased slightly, and the overall sales volume remained strong. The reporter of the first construction machinery network learned from a third-party channel that as of June 2022, the top five brands in the sales volume of aerial work platforms in the domestic market are Zoomlion, XCMG, Lingong heavy machinery, Zhejiang Dingli and Xingbang intelligent. This pattern is basically the same as that in 2021, but the ranking changes slightly.
According to the analysis of professionals in the industry, the first half of 2022 is usually the peak of enterprise procurement. However, unlike previous years, the purchasing power of major domestic high-speed aircraft leasing enterprises will shrink in the first half of 2022. The reason is that the domestic epidemic prevention situation in the first half of the year brought continuous challenges to the domestic economy, limited personnel flow and logistics transportation, slow progress of engineering projects in various places, and weak social investment demand, all of which brought certain pressure on the short-term business growth of domestic high-altitude machinery leasing enterprises.
Since June, the domestic epidemic prevention policy has been gradually liberalized, the downstream demand has begun to recover, and the bidding work of major leasing enterprises has accelerated. Industry experts predicted that from the third quarter, the business of the high-altitude aircraft leasing industry will recover and grow, and the total sales volume of the high-altitude operation platform is expected to reach a new high.
Three factors boost overseas sales
According to the association's statistics on 11 aerial work platform manufacturing enterprises, 7262 sets were exported in July 2022, with a year-on-year increase of 71.8%. From January to July 2022, 43327 sets were exported, with a year-on-year increase of 60.7%. Despite the continuous impact of the global epidemic, China's high-altitude work platform exports still showed strong resilience and handed over a brilliant report card.
It can be seen from the global high altitude operation leasing market report 2022 newly published by ipaf that Chinese brand high altitude machinery and equipment will be more and more popular in overseas markets in 2021, and the voice of choosing "made in China" will also be higher and higher. According to experts' analysis, there are three main reasons.
First, the supply cycle of foreign brand products is too long. The international environment (geopolitics), epidemic situation and other factors have caused foreign brand manufacturers to be affected in the supply chain of parts. The supply cycle of some enterprises in the overseas market has reached 6 months or even longer. In contrast, domestic brand manufacturers have little influence on the supply chain. According to experts' estimation, the supply cycle of domestic brand products will not exceed 2 months. Therefore, domestic manufacturers have great advantages in the supply cycle.
Second, the impact of price factors. "Made in China" products have high cost performance. After years of development, the high-altitude mechanical equipment manufactured by Chinese enterprises has made rapid progress in appearance design, quality and performance, and the price is more advantageous than that of similar products of foreign brands.
Third, the trend of accelerating the branding of Chinese overseas enterprises is obvious. At present, Chinese enterprises have gradually transformed from made in China and Chinese brands to global brands. For example, XCMG, Lingong heavy machinery, Zhejiang Dingli, Xingbang intelligent and other enterprises have realized the global layout. They have deeply understood the unique needs of consumers in different regions and realized localization in specific marketing strategies, products and prices. Let overseas customers feel that Chinese brands not only focus on cost performance, but also establish a good brand image on the basis of product strength, which has successfully won public praise from users.
Technology leads the industry and new products constantly emerge
With the continuous expansion of product application scope, since the beginning of this year, major manufacturers have also launched unique new products.
For example, Zoomlion intelligent high-tech machinery released the 40m electric straight arm product zt40je-v, the 28m straight arm product zt28s / zt40s dedicated to the shipyard, and the 27m electric spider type aerial work platform zx27ae. They have both strong product performance and distinct green characteristics, and have their own unique characteristics.
For example, Liugong has released a new electric straight arm product lt20je and an electric curved arm product la20je. Shanhe intelligent launched the 14m electric scissor type product swsl1416ac-c, the 16m electric curved arm type product swa16je, and the 22m straight arm type product swt22j. Simbond intelligent launched its unique sleeve type products ml10ej and all terrain crawler straight arm tb22jt plus. Ou Lisheng launched the new straight arm ht28rtjo, known as the "performance ceiling".
For example, in the middle of August, Sany hi tech released three series of 10 new products, namely 4m, 6m, 8m, 10m and 12m self cutting fork series, 14m, 16m and 20m electric curved arm series, and 22m and 26m straight arm series high-altitude operation platforms. They all have four intelligent advantages of "wisdom, intelligence, think tank and intelligent win" and are recognized by customers.
In general, the new products launched by the manufacturers in the industry all adhere to the original intention of "scientific and technological innovation". From product research and development to production line design, they fully practice the development path of green energy saving and low-carbon emission reduction, and actively promote the healthy development of the industry towards intelligent, digital and green.
Rapid development of digital management platform
Since 2022, the digital management service platform service is developing rapidly in the industry. Such as XCMG's global digital spare parts service information system (x-gss system), Zoomlion's intelligent high-tech machine's "high intelligence and intelligent management" small program, intelligent remote monitoring and lease management platform, and sany high-tech machine (Intelligent leasing and equipment management system) newly joined the "battle group", many enterprises have made active and effective exploration in the application of digital services to help customers solve various management problems.
Whether it is data analysis or the convenience of various management provided by it, the digital management service platform is very important for lessors. Through the digital management platform, it can provide vehicle owners and fleet managers with information about machine conditions, including preventive maintenance needs and potential problems. With this information, the equipment management personnel can better carry out preventive maintenance on the machine and improve the normal operation time. This information can also help technicians diagnose the problems of field equipment remotely, saving time and improving the efficiency of equipment maintenance.
It can be said that the application of digital and intelligent technology services will not only make the high-altitude operation platform industry develop in a safer, more efficient and sustainable direction, but also help users make the most of every minute and every penny to create more value.
Although the domestic aerial work platform is still at the stage of rapid development, we are also pleased to see that the application of aerial work platform has expanded from the initial single application in the construction field to: factories, shopping malls, airports, stations, schools, villas, large venues, power facilities, petrochemical plants, water conservancy construction, municipal maintenance, building maintenance, and agriculture, forestry, wind power, communications, film and television commercial performances.
Some experts predict that in the second half of 2022, the aerial work platform will still become a high growth industry in the construction machinery industry, and it is expected to continue to maintain its "pride" position. Let's wait and see how the final market sales will be.
