According to the 2015 Yellow Table survey conducted by publisher KHL Group, the top 50 construction equipment suppliers experienced a 2.6 per cent revenue decrease to $USD159 billion ($AUD207.1 billion) in 2014.
This was said to be “less severe” compared to the larger 12.2 per cent fall from $USD186 billion ($AUD242.5 billion) in 2012 to $USD163 billion ($AUD212.3 billion) in 2013, as recorded in the 2014 Yellow Table survey.
Chris Sleight, editor of International Construction, the UK-based magazine that publishes the survey results annually, commented, “Although buoyancy in North America and a return to growth in European markets helped lift some manufacturers’ revenues, weakness in emerging economies – particularly China – and the continued slowdown in global mining activity, proved to be greater headwinds.
“At $USD159 billion ($AUD207.1 billion), revenues last year for the global equipment top 50 were some 15 per cent lower than the all-time high of $USD186 billion ($AUD242.5 billion) seen in 2012. They were also lower than the pre-crisis high of $USD168 billion ($AUD219 billion) seen in 2008,” he added.
New Chinese contender
The 10 highest rankings in the 2015 Yellow Table showed a slight reshuffling of some of the manufacturers that appeared in the last edition, as well as a new top 10 entrant – Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG).
“[This] establishes [XCMG] as China’s largest construction equipment manufacturer ahead of Sany and Zoomlion,” Sleight explained. “The company’s three-place rise reflects the increase in revenues following its acquisition of [German concrete machinery supplier] Schwing.”
The latest survey results again ranked Caterpillar and Komatsu as numbers one and two in the global market – a trend that has remained unchanged since the inaugural Yellow Table was released 13 years ago.
Other shifts within the top 10 ranks included Hitachi’s step up to third place, directly above Volvo as a result of a $USD5 million ($AUD6.5 million) revenue difference, and Terex swapping places with Liebherr for fifth position, once again due to a “small” revenue gap.
For more information on the 2015 Yellow Table, visit www.khl.com
The annual Yellow Table survey ranks machinery suppliers’ global standings based on their year-on-year revenues. The data is compiled by KHL Group, a construction information provider and the publisher of International Construction magazine. KHL has been charting information on the world’s 50 largest construction equipment manufacturers since 2003.
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