In 2024, many people see the surplus of Russian construction machinery as a major trend. Chinese brands have played an important role in the formation of this phenomenon. However, not all segmented markets experience an oversupply of equipment. The Russian Construction Equipment Network Disk has identified the special equipment and machinery that are still in short supply in the Russian market.
The shortage of auxiliary equipment to mining dump trucks still exists in multiple fields. Articulated dump trucks are the only segmented market with only parallel imports in 2023. Chinese brands are searching for missing equipment and developing in these areas.
Tower cranes are still in short supply: neither sellers nor leasing companies can provide sufficient equipment for the construction industry. The only solution is to increase the supply of Chinese products, "said Anton Sokolov, the business director of the Russian Mechanization Management Company, in an interview.
Tower cranes still in short supply in the Russian market
In addition, there is a shortage of telescopic forklifts and curved arm aerial work platforms (working at heights exceeding 30 meters) for high-altitude operations. Due to the previous focus of Chinese manufacturers on models with low operating heights, this gap has emerged in the market after European and American companies withdrew. Although there is still a shortage of equipment for high operational heights, it is a matter of time. According to Andrei Galitsky from Vertex, Chinese manufacturers are adapting and launching new models of high-altitude work platforms.
Andrei Lovkov, the business director of ID Marketing, pointed out that articulated dump trucks are another particularly scarce field. According to customs data for 2023, this is the only equipment sector that relies entirely on parallel imports. Last year, no Chinese company supplied domestically produced articulated dump trucks to Russia. He also mentioned that at least two domestic manufacturers in Russia - Kamaz and Tonal - have entered this market, but demand still exists. The import supply of this niche market has decreased by about 63%.
In addition, representatives from the Russian RBA company confirmed earlier that there is still a shortage of imported articulated dump trucks and rigid mining dump trucks weighing over 100 tons. However, as of autumn 2024, there are already some supply options from Chinese and Korean manufacturers in the market, which brings hope to the market outlook.
According to Oleg Malakhovsky, General Manager of Rental Tech, although Chinese brands have expanded their product range, there is still a shortage of certain models of bulldozers. Especially bulldozers with six directional shovels are almost completely lacking. According to ID Marketing's data, overall, the delivery volume of tracked bulldozers has significantly decreased by 16% in 2023.
The delivery volume of tracked bulldozers will decrease in 2023
The business director of ID Marketing believes that the paver market has been shrinking in the past three years and is one of the most vulnerable areas for replacing imports.
Ivan Chikov, head of customer service at Armet Rus, pointed out that there is still a shortage of high-quality crushing and screening equipment. There are currently over 20 suppliers, but very few can provide reliable products.
TPK Kronstadt's Director of Development, Roman Selzov, stated that there are issues with underground mining equipment. He pointed out that although there are manufacturers in Russia, Belarus, and China, there is a lack of one-stop service solutions to provide customers with products that are reliable in quality, have a clear lifespan, and have controllable costs.
According to Anton Akimov of Instroytechcom, there are currently only about 1000 auxiliary mining equipment in operation in the Russian market, so this niche market is far from saturated.
The demand for accessories in Chinese excavators is increasing
Sergei Shishkin, Sales Director of Special Equipment at Professional Company, stated that there is a high demand for accessory equipment. Although the construction machinery market has shifted towards Chinese manufacturers, the accessories and equipment produced in China are mainly designed for standard operating conditions.
However, in Russia, these devices are used in quarries, rock surface operations, and low-temperature environments, bearing much greater loads than their usage conditions in China, resulting in a higher failure rate of the equipment in Russia. He added, "Therefore, our demand for specialized attachments for Chinese excavators is constantly increasing.