Backhoe loader encounters "two busy" encounters

Recently, the industry has given extensive attention to the market prospects of backhoe loaders. It is generally believed that the market for backhoe loaders has entered a warm-up period and will enter a growth period after a few years. So how is the technical level of our backhoe loader? How will the market grow in the future? Can it develop as people expect?

Backhoe loaders are commonly known as "two busy". Because of its unique construction, the front end is the loading device and the back end is the excavation device. During construction, the operator only needs to rotate the seat to complete the transition from the loader to the excavator. The backhoe loader is mainly used for road construction and maintenance in urban and rural areas, cable laying, power and airport engineering, municipal construction, farmland water conservancy construction, rural housing construction, stone extraction and various construction projects undertaken by various small construction teams. . "Two busy" belongs to a kind of small multi-functional construction machinery and is generally used in small projects after completion of large projects. It can be equipped with a variety of work devices and auxiliary equipment for excavation, shoveling, road crushing, leveling the site, excavation ditches, laying pipes and other operations.

Although experts are optimistic about the future, although the development of backhoe loaders in China has encountered various problems, in recent years, with the continuous improvement of the economic level and urbanization level, the cost of manual operations has gradually exceeded the cost of mechanical operations. According to the survey conducted by the relevant departments, from the east to the west, the process of mechanical replacement of manual operations has been significantly accelerated. The project has higher and higher requirements for construction period and efficiency. Although some manual operations are economically viable, they cannot meet the time and efficiency requirements in terms of time and efficiency. Therefore, mechanized construction has become an inevitable choice.

Experts believe that as the needs of users continue to change, the scope of application of backhoe loaders is gradually widening. Its flexible working space and convenient transportation can replace the existing large-scale machinery that is not suitable for municipal construction. In addition, the construction and maintenance of airports, ports, terminals, mines, military facilities, and petroleum and gas pipelines also require the use of backhoe loaders.

Experts said that at present, the annual market capacity of backhoe loaders in China is only 800 to 1,000 units, of which exports also account for a significant proportion. However, from the perspective of the development of the past two years, it is optimistic to estimate that the annual domestic sales volume of the backhoe loader market will be expected to reach around 5,000 units in the next few years. From the perspective of user needs, sales of high-end products in backhoe loaders will increase, while sales of low-end products such as backhoe loaders produced with tractor chassis will gradually decline. Therefore, the market prospect of backhoe loaders in China is very broad. At the same time, people in the industry generally believe that since the backhoe loaders started late in China, we do not possess core technologies, nor do we have research and development capabilities and corresponding manufacturing levels. At the same time, due to social and economic development and other reasons, their popularity It also lags far behind developed countries.

Therefore, the sales volume of the backhoe loader has always been unsatisfactory. However, with the rapid social and economic development in China, the industry has also seen rapid growth. It is predicted that the current state of the backhoe loader is already in a critical period when the lead-in period is approaching and the growth period is about to start. However, this start-up may not be explosive, especially in the early stages of growth, which will be mainly based on steady growth. . In the next few years, the market will increase by about 15% to 20%. With the development and change of engineering construction projects, after 3 to 5 years, the backhoe loader will enter the growth period.

Market maturity in developed countries At present, the world's backhoe loader market is mainly concentrated in Europe, North America, Japan and other developed regions, as well as South America, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. The largest demand in Europe is Spain, followed by France and Italy. Due to the mature construction of foreign infrastructure and the development of expressways, accompanied by the economic crisis in the last century, few large-scale projects are carried out in foreign countries, and most of them require maintenance work. Therefore, the demand for excavating loaders as small-scale construction machines has rapidly increased.

As the urbanization rate is already high, infrastructure construction is more inclined to be crafted. In terms of local road maintenance, small-scale construction facilities, small multi-purpose projects such as excavators, loaders, and backhoe loaders Mechanical equipment is more practical.

Backhoe loaders had their first generation products as early as the 1960s. World brands such as Case, Terex, JCB, Bobcat, John Deere, Volvo, Caterpillar, Komatsu, and Kubota have all developed unique products, among which Case and JCB have the highest composite index . The annual output and sales of foreign excavator market exceeded 100,000 units, occupying a long-term position in the dominant market. According to incomplete statistics, there are dozens of manufacturers of backhoe loaders abroad, and there are about 30 manufacturers for mass production. The US Lynx brand small multi-functional loader has an annual sales volume of about 50,000 units, as well as excavation loaders and small multi-functional loaders such as Case, John Deere, Caterpillar, and JCB, with annual sales of 10,000 units. the above.

At present, the world's excavation loader production and sales of about 100,000 to 120,000 units, mainly in Europe, North America and other developed regions; South America, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa is also an important market for backhoe loaders. The market capacity of backhoe loaders in North America is stable at between 35,000 and 41,000 units. There is also a mature market in Europe. The largest demand is Spain, followed by France and Italy. The statistical data of the developed highways in the United States and Europe shows that every 100 kilometers of highway needs to be equipped with a backhoe loader for maintenance, and the backhoe loader is very suitable for road construction and maintenance. For example, earthwork scraping and digging trenches and caves for foundations, pipelines, drainage ditch and other underground facilities can be used for compaction, crushing, milling and other purposes. This is the main reason for the heavy demand for backhoe loaders abroad. .

"Two busy" encounters relevant experts believe that in Europe and the United States market, the backhoe loader has become one of the larger production and sales volume in the mainstream construction machinery market; while in the construction machinery market in China, the share is still very small. This includes both the reasons for the market and the special national conditions in China.

Judging from the domestic situation, China's current stage is still in the early stage of urbanization. Various large-scale infrastructures are still in the stage of major repairs, and the demand for large-scale construction machinery and equipment is strong. In Europe and the United States, due to the high rate of urbanization, they tend to be more meticulous in infrastructure construction. In the local road maintenance, small-scale construction facilities, such as small excavators, backhoe loaders, etc. Multi-purpose small construction machinery and equipment is more practical.

In the developed coastal regions of China, the relative construction of infrastructure is relatively complete. In fact, it is possible to use the backhoe loader on a larger scale. However, due to the low cost of labor in China and the relatively small scale of projects that require the participation of backhoe loaders, Many projects can be solved with a cheap labor force, which is more cost-effective than spending hundreds of thousands of yuan on purchasing backhoe loaders. In Europe and the United States, labor costs are often very expensive, and companies are more willing to increase their efficiency by purchasing backhoe loaders.

A good price/performance ratio is one of the most important factors in deciding whether or not to be welcomed by the market. Due to the different stages of development of the developed markets in China, Europe, and the United States, coupled with the low labor cost factors, it has greatly hampered the development of the backhoe loader industry in China.