Excavator Market Outlook: Demand for 15T Excavator Class Increases Exponentially
As demand for 15T excavator class increases, leading manufacturers are scrambling to establish strong positions in the market
The heavy machine market is currently witnessing a trend shift due to the change in dynamics of the urban construction industry where 13 and 15 tonne excavators are dominating excavator sales and rental markets. The 15T class excavators have become the latest workhorses within the scope of the urban construction industry where space or congested work environments have become a serious issue to the extent productivity is affected negatively.
According to the national product manager of Takeuchi David Caldwell standard excavators are too big and as more and more buildings are built in large cities such as Perth or Melbourne in Australia, standard sized excavators become impractical and less efficient due to the challenges posed by urban construction sites. Building and even homes are being built bigger on lots that a smaller causing a ‘shrink’ in the work space resulting in narrow pathways, tight corners and congested environments which impede the ability of standard sized to be navigated smoothly.
The excavator market is growing all over the world due to rapid urbanisation and this has caused excavator sales and as well excavator rental markets to grow exponentially. According to industry observers both excavator sales and rental revenues are expected to increase by almost 4 % within the next few years from the current market value estimated to be about 9 billion AUD. Much of the increase according to these market observers are linked to the rise in popularity of the 15T excavator class category which according to heavy machine rental companies are hired at the highest frequency.
Most construction equipment rental companies based in cities such as Melbourne acknowledge that the fastest movers within the excavator for hire segment are 15 tonne excavators. Wesley Foy, the product manager for Yanmar also indicated that standard size excavators are counterproductive for most urban projects as these larger machines raise concerns related to situational awareness due to the sizes of these larger excavators, whereas smaller more powerful machines reduce the possibility of collisions with structures or even people significantly.
The newer 15T excavators that are available for hire in the market are not just powerful, but they also come with very clever systems such as load and surround sensors that detect obstacles including co-workers around the machine added Foy.
The entire trend shift in demand for smaller more powerful excavators within the excavator rental or the excavator for hire segment has resulted in intense competition amongst major manufacturers. Among the manufacturers that are totally invested in the 15T excavator category include Caterpillar, Komatsu, SANY, John Deere, Takeuchi, Hyundai, CASE, Sunward, Kobelco and Kobelco.
Apart from the size of the excavators, these manufacturers are also competing in other spheres within their R & D component such as improved safety, higher fuel efficiency, power ratios and even excavator cab comfort and based on current market reports the leaders within this sector are Kubota, SANY and CAT. 36 % of the entire market share is held by these three players.
