TURNING THE CORNER

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摘要:As the North American construction and agriculture equipment industry emerges from a full year under the COVID-19 cloud, a clear majority (88%) of equipment manufacturers report a positive outlook for 2021, according to a March 2021 survey by U.S.-based AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers). More than half (55%) of the respondents from leading equipment manufacturers expect sales to increase or remain stable despite the ongoing impact of the global pandemic. The online survey was targeted at employees of AEM-member companies and includes results from more than 130 respondents, including CEOs, vice presidents, and sales and operations leaders, among others. "The equipment manufacturing industry has continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has successfully adjusted to challenges to make the equipment that builds, feeds, and powers our country," said AEM president Dennis Slater. "Equipment manufacturers have begun to turn the corner. We now need [U.S.] Congress and the President to pass long-overdue legislation that will invest in and modernise our nation's infrastructure."

FOLLOWING A BRAZILIAN GROWTH LEAD

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摘要:The Brazilian construction sector is said by industry insiders to have a positive outlook for 2021, with growth expected not only from the real estate sector, but also from infrastructure. Brazil, insiders say, can take advantage of the resources of international investors, who have already started to return to the country. The above analysis was one of the main evaluations of debaters attending the fifteenth staging of M&T magazine's Trends in the Construction Market event. The strategic event held on Thursday, 26 November 2020, which brought together, virtually, an audience of more than 1,500 people, included a debate involving, among others, Afonso Mamede, president of the Brazilian Association of Technology for Construction and Mining (Sobratema), Carlos Silveira, president of the Superior Council of the Industry Union of Heavy Construction of the State of Sao Paulo (Sinicesp), Eurimilson Daniel, vice president of Sobratema and director of the Brazilian Association of Unions and Associations Representing the Lessors of Machines, Equipment and Tools (Analoc) and economist Luis Artur Walnut.

JAPANESE FOCUS ON RENEWABLE ENERGY,TRANSPORT,TELECOMMUNICATIONS & MANUFACTURING

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摘要:OHR figures show that Japan's equipment sales rose 3% to 67,645 units, compared to 65,645 units in 2019, indicating that Japan, along with China, managed to buck the downward global trend. Despite the pandemic causing a significant slowdown in the first half of the year, OHR explains that increased public spending on infrastructure was a trigger for the recovery in the second half of the year. This was particularly apparent in medium-sized equipment such as crawler excavators and wheeled loaders. Additionally, OHR says there was a certain amount of pent-up demand in Japan. The consultancy says that the introduction of higher consumption tax in 2019 distorted the normal seasonal pattern to some extent and demand fell once the new 10% rate was introduced in October. However, OHR notes that fleet renewal cannot be put off indefinitely, and sales in 2020 were lifted somewhat as a result of the unnaturally low sales in the latter part of 2019. "Having said that, the Japanese market is a relatively consistent one, with sales for the last four years coming in between 63,000 and 68,000 units per annum. So, while a 3% fall in demand is forecast for this year, it is arguably more accurate to view it as a continuation of a stable sales pattern," OHR states.

BIG INDIAN INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING

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摘要:Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, OHR reports that 2020 was expected to be a year of robust growth for the Indian construction equipment market, following the disruption of the 2019 general election. In the event, OHR notes that the pandemic precipitated a 10% decline in sales, to 67,635 units, or 73,275 if mobile cranes and compaction equipment are included. This, says OHR, took demand back to where it was in 2017 and was some 25% lower than the peak year of 2018. "As disappointing as this was for a market which was showing clear signs of returning to robust growth at the end of 2019, a 10% downturn as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns is not as bad an outcome as might have been expected," OHR summarises. OHR highlights that there were almost no mini excavator sales in India prior to 2010. However, this is now a product offered by several suppliers, some of which manufacture in-country. This has seen demand rise to just above 1,000 units per year, and OHR expects this to rise to well over 2,000 sales per year over the medium term.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND CUSTOMER ROADMAPS DRIVE ALTERNATIVE POWER IDEAS

[国外交通期刊数据库] 作者:Liam McLoughlin

摘要:The use of alternative power solutions in construction equipment is being driven by a number of factors, specifically the desire to minimise both vehicle emissions and operational costs. A range of alternatives to traditional diesel power is being developed by equipment manufacturers including electric-battery power, and fuel cells that produce electric power from sources such as methane, lithium, propane and - increasingly commonly - hydrogen. The global electric off-highway vehicle market size in a pre-COVID-19 situation was projected by a MarketsandMarkets report to reach a value of US$6.3bn in 2020 and increase to US$17.5bn by 2025. The research company says that the global financial slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic has led to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) delaying new vehicle developments and launches in the off-highway electric vehicle sector. However MarketsandMarkets says this is likely to be only a temporary slowdown: "The upcoming emission norms for off-highway vehicles, development of new and advanced products, and recovery of end-use sectors post-2020 are expected to support the growth of the electric off-highway vehicle market in the coming years."

COULD A 'TESLA' BE ABOUT TO EAT THE OEMS' ELECTRIC LUNCH

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摘要:With electrification (along with digitalisation and autonomy) all set to change the construction equipment sector, could the industry's established original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) be wrongfooted by a new market entrant? Industry thinkers Alan Berger and Carl-Gustaf Goransson say there is a possible scenario where such a newcomer could disrupt the incumbents. Berger and Goransson (who have both held senior roles at Volvo CE and CNH Industrial), comment: "In 2008 no one saw Tesla Motors as much other than a niche electric sports car company. Certainly not other car companies - in 2009 Tesla only made 147 cars. Fast-forward 12 years and Tesla is making 500,000 cars a year and is valued higher than the top six car manufacturers combined."

THE PLATFORM MATTERS

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摘要:Where and how the construction equipment OEMs bring their supply chains together is going to be more and more important... and the world's best logistics platforms will be where the party is hosted. Make sure you are keeping a careful eye on where the industry's biggest players are meeting and greeting. For instance, at the turn of this year, a platform called project44 raised US $100m in a financing round designed to: "Accelerate supply chain transformation." project44 describes itself as a leader in supply chain visibility for shippers and logistics service providers designed to "strengthen supply chains and better safeguard and track shipments amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic." "The events of 2020 magnified challenges organisations face in achieving supply chain visibility," said Jett McCandless, CEO and founder of project44. "Digital transformation to better understand and manage shipping delays and status was important pre-pandemic; now it is a business imperative."

KEEPING TRACK

[国外交通期刊数据库] 作者:Kristina Smith

摘要:It has taken a global pandemic to convince some road owners that a system which involves passing pieces of paper from asphalt plant to truck to site supervisor is not the best way to do things. "Some people were already looking at e-tickets, and specifications had been created in many states for e-tickets before the pandemic," says Nick McRae, CEO of construction fleet management company Broadloop. "Coronavirus accelerated it." Though many companies have been set up to deliver the e-ticketing function only, others provide more sophisticated digital tracking tools that stretch from planning to mixing, delivery, paving analysis and accounts, among them Joseph Vogele, Amman, Volz Consulting, Topcon and Broadloop. These tools are by no means mainstream yet, but the combination of the 'pandemic effect' and more friendly interfaces could be the push needed to increase uptake. "From Trimble's perspective, any technology adoption is good for the industry," says Kevin Garcia, general manager at Trimble Civil Specialty Solutions. "Some successes lead to more adoption. We just want to see the industry as a whole become more digitally advanced."

Paving tight corners

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摘要:The track was built at the new headquarters of a global market leader for electric and petrol-driven go-karts. As a result, the quality of the track had to be first rate. This made the Hemer jobsite at the headquarters of RiMO Germany a serious challenge. The work was handled by road contractor Ossenberg Aufbereitung, Strassen- und Tiefbau, using two of its Vogele SUPER 1303-3i wheeled pavers. Seven hairpin bends with a crossfall of up to 2096 and a chicane resulted in a circuit in the northern area of Sauerland that demands skill from those driving the go-karts. Although the course has been designed primarily for testing go-karts, its use is also available to locals as a leisure facility. The track varies in width from 5.2-9.5m. At the widest points, the paving team also used a Vogele SUPER 1803-2 Universal Class paver. A key factor in achieving a quality result was the use of a wheeled machine for the tight corners. Wheeled pavers have advantages when paving tight bends as they can steer with precision and the 6x4 drive also helps to maximise grip. The Vogele machine runs on two pneumatic rear tyres and four front wheels mounted on bogies, a layout that also copes with surface irregularities. The Pivot Steer function on the Vogele wheeled machines played an important role in achieving accurate paving on the tight curves. The steering brake automatically brakes the rear wheel on the inside of the bend hydraulically. The system helps to draw the machine round the bend, allowing much tighter turning circles. The system is useful for paving on cramped jobsites such as inner-city building projects as well as racing circuits.

Bridge paving job

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摘要:The Silver Jubilee Bridge spans the river Mersey and connects Runcorn and Widnes and was closed in 2017 for refurbishment work. The bridge improvement is being handled by Halton Borough Council and one feature of the upgrade was for an asphalt solution that could help reduce water ingression, improve durability, and be laid at a minimal 70mm thickness over a waterproofing membrane. As vibration on the bridge deck was not permitted, the asphalt had to be laid with a minimum of compaction. The material needed to be flexible enough to withstand movement; contain low in-situ voids to reduce water ingression through the asphalt onto the bridge deck, while giving good deformation resistance. Aggregate Industries discussed the suitability of its ProLay System with Halton Borough Council. Following investigations, the contracting team recommended a customised asphalt mix, ProLay Ultra cl.942. Aggregate Industries' Contracting Division laid a 40mm lower mat of dense and rut resistant Hot Rolled Asphalt which was then overlaid with 30mm of ProLay Ultra cl.942 asphalt. The layers were laid using the latest smart surfacing technology to retrieve key pavement data and support asset management for Halton Borough Council with as-built digital information from the paver.