Published in "Hunan Daily" August 24, 2024 04 edition

Hunan Daily all-media reporter Li Zhi correspondent Tang Minghong

According to the latest statistics of Xingsha Customs, in the first seven months of this year, Changsha exported 18 billion yuan of construction machinery, a year-on-year increase of 30.3%. Among them, the products of enterprises with Zoomlion, Sany Group, Sunward Intelligence, Xingbang Intelligence, etc. as the main body sell well in 161 countries, and exports to Saudi Arabia, Netherlands and Brazil have increased by 172.5% on average.

In the face of the weak cycle of the domestic construction machinery industry, construction machinery manufacturers have expanded overseas markets. In the first half of the year, the overseas revenue of Changsha construction machinery giants accounted for nearly 50% of the main business.

Overseas revenue gradually accounts for "half of the country"

Sany Heavy Industry's international sales revenue in 2023 will be 43.258 billion yuan, and international revenue will account for 60.48% of its main business income, breaking through the 50% mark for the first time and increasing by 14.78 percentage points year-on-year. Since the beginning of this year, 113 road machines have been delivered to the Philippines, more than 100 cranes have been sent to the Middle East, 50 dump trucks have been shipped to Saudi Arabia, 408 electric mixer trucks have taken the lead in passing the new EU GSR regulations, SY215E electric digging Netherlands have made their debut, and 2,000 excavator orders have been signed in Indonesia...... Sany continues to make efforts in overseas markets, establishes a global R&D system, and develops products required by customers in different regional markets, especially high-end products in Europe and the United States; South Africa and other places have newly invested in the construction of intelligent manufacturing factories to accelerate the global high-end manufacturing layout.

Zoomlion has built an overseas business system based on end-to-end, digitalization and localization to promote the leapfrog development of overseas business. In 2023, the overseas revenue will be 17.905 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 79.2%, accounting for 38.04% of the main business income, a record high. At present, Zoomlion has built more than 30 first-class business airports and more than 350 second-level outlets around the world, and the construction of outlets has sunk from regional centers to important cities. There are more than 3,000 overseas local employees around the world, and our products cover more than 140 countries and regions.

In the first half of this year, the global deployment of Xingbang Intelligent has basically taken shape, forming a global layout relying on domestic headquarters, two overseas production bases in Poland and Mexico, and 11 international subsidiaries. International business will account for more than 40% in 2023 and is expected to exceed 50% in 2024.

Sunward's overseas marketing network covers major markets around the world, and overseas markets account for more than half of the revenue.

The average export price per piece of equipment increased by 37.9%

Xingsha Customs statistics show that in the first half of this year, Changsha exported 15.35 billion yuan of construction machinery, a year-on-year increase of 30.3%, and the average export price of each equipment increased by 37.9%.

From March to April this year, China Railway Construction Heavy Industry exported two 9-meter EPB shield machines to Italy for the construction of the Sicily high-speed railway project, each with a value of more than 100 million yuan. China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. carries out customized production according to European standards and customers' individual needs, and its products are more differentiated and have high added value, which is one of the reasons for the increase in average export prices.

"Each (set) of equipment of China Railway Construction Heavy Industry has exported more than 100 million yuan this year, and the average price of each unit has more than doubled compared with last year." Xingsha customs officer introduced.

After the epidemic, the overseas market of construction machinery has gradually recovered, and the demand has been expanding. In particular, the countries along the "Belt and Road" are the main markets for the export of roadheaders, and the demand was strong in the first half of this year, and the roadheaders played an important role in the construction of infrastructure projects such as water diversion projects and subway construction.

CRCC has made efforts in overseas key projects, and its products have been exported to more than 40 countries and regions, and it has also won the bid for shield machines for tunnel construction in Turkey, Romania, Poland and other countries.

According to market analysts, the export volume of construction machinery has increased in price, first, the recognition of "Made in China" in overseas markets has continued to increase; Second, the technical content and added value of Changsha construction machinery have increased; In addition, fluctuations in overseas tariffs and increased logistics costs have also pushed up the value of exports.

Since 2020, the annual export volume of China's construction machinery has maintained a substantial growth. According to data released by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, China's construction machinery exports will be 48.552 billion US dollars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 9.57%, and the overseas revenue of domestic construction machinery leading enterprises will account for about 50%, of which exports to countries along the "Belt and Road" will be 21.055 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 24.1%, accounting for 43.3% of the total exports.

From product export to global layout of the industry

At present, the overall demand in overseas markets is slowing down, but the market segment is still in strong demand. Domestic construction machinery enterprises are committed to expanding overseas business and maintaining both performance and profit growth. Based on the long-term development of overseas, these enterprises have gradually moved from a single product export to a global industrial layout.

The relevant person in charge of Zoomlion said that for overseas markets, domestic brands still have growth, and China's construction machinery products have strong performance, good quality, high cost performance, high degree of digitalization and intelligence, and short delivery cycle, which are widely praised by overseas customers. Zoomlion is committed to establishing a wide-coverage, efficient and safe overseas market system, vigorously promoting the globalization of R&D, and devoting half of its R&D resources to developing more suitable products for overseas working conditions, needs, regulations, etc., so as to respond to the global market demand with global R&D.

"Our globalization is shifting from product exports to industrial exports. It is hoped that through the allocation of global resources, the internationalization level of the enterprise will be accelerated, the individual needs of global customers will be better met, and a sustainable global operation capability will be established. Xiang Wenbo, chairman of Sany Heavy Industry, said.

Yuan Zhen, secretary-general of Changsha Construction Machinery Industry Association, believes that Changsha enterprises are moving from product exports to the overall global layout of the industry, and build a vibrant global industrial ecosystem in terms of system construction, marketing services and spare parts supply, which reflects the positive and enterprising spirit of enterprises in the weak cycle of the industry, and is also a portrayal of the continuous improvement of the new quality productivity of Changsha construction machinery industry. At the same time, the industry is also working hard to improve R&D investment to prepare for the arrival of the next industry growth period in the domestic market.