Investor Alert: Caterpillar, Volvo sales under pressure by China’s push for self-sufficiency

    The global market for heavy construction machinery and mining equipment will see strong growth through the next two decades. Over a billion people in Asia, Africa, and South America will move to cities, and huge new investments in mines are underway.

    But under China’s “Delete-America” plans, foreign suppliers of raw materials, energy, and technology will be replaced by China’s domestic firms, wherever possible. China has dozens of high-quality manufacturers of heavy construction and mining equipment and tools, and a strong preference for those domestic suppliers is already evident in sales and earnings reports from Caterpillar and Volvo.

    CAT and Volvo are already seeing double-digit percentage declines in their sales to the parts of the world that will see the largest demand growth.

    Resources and links:

    International Energy Agency, Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024: Market review
    https://www.iea.org/reports/global-critical-minerals-outlook-2024/market-review

    Q2 2024 Caterpillar retail results
    https://investors.caterpillar.com/financials/retail-statistics/default.aspx

    Wall Street Journal, Caterpillar’s Earnings Beat Expectations, but Machinery Maker Cuts Sales Guidance
    https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-global-selloff-08-06-2024/card/caterpillar-sales-fall-in-2q-but-machinery-maker-still-raising-prices-EBtD5twKDm3mJ2RGp3Z7

    Volvo CE Sales Drop 15% in Q2
    https://www.constructionequipment.com/earthmoving/news/55128166/volvo-ce-sales-drop-15-in-q2

    Volvo CE deliveries, sales drop amid declining demand

    Volvo CE deliveries, sales drop amid declining demand

    Wall Street Journal, China Intensifies Push to ‘Delete America’ From Its Technology
    https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-technology-software-delete-america-2b8ea89f

    Construction Equipment Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Equipment Type, 30 September 2024
    https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/construction-equipment-market-100521https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/construction-equipment-market-100521

    Mining Equipment Market report
    https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/mining-equipment-market

    Equipment World, Caterpillar Construction Equipment Sales Rise 6% in North America
    https://www.equipmentworld.com/business/article/15669722/caterpillar-construction-industry-sales-down-5-in-q1-2024

    Mining Global Market Report 2024
    https://www.researchandmarkets.com/report/mining?srsltid=AfmBOopYHx26oNt_8iAg9BPzm8SehP_h9DbtQ9wWbnQEs4IcQP7hcCou

    China’s heavy equipment market and segmentation analysis
    https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/china-construction-equipment-market

    Closing scene, Danba, Sichuan

    21 Comments

    1. In the meantime, SANY are seeing sales booming in this very sector. 35.9% increase in international sales last year. At the smaller excavator end of the market (including "mini-diggers") there are a vast number of Chinese manufacturers, aimed squarely at the farm industry, and small scale domestic construction.

    2. Xaiomi have only just entered the EV market. The car they debuted at the end of March this year, their SU7, has just knocked 20 seconds of the Nürburgring lap record. From a company associated with consumer electronics, and the white goods market. No wonder the West are having a collective panic over "Chinese Over-capacity"!

    3. i own a small trucking business, every two years the government requir you update your address and what you haul, just bs, i have 21 years experience in the business, they revoked my business license bcs i forgot to update, the problem all of the 21 years being in business went down the drain now.im like new business, im struggling to stay in business even before that, go figure, all in the name of safety, what safety in destroying my business?

    4. China's simply listened carefully to the West and has steadily de-risked and decoupled from the West and continues to make itself self-sufficient. All sensible pragmatic means to deal with bullies!

    5. Remember those people who insisted to continue using horse drawn coaches when petrol and diesel motor cars appeared in the market? Compare those people with the present day equivalent ones insisting to continue using petrol and diesel motor cars when EVs appears in the market.

    6. Hubris and stupidity rein supreme in Washington. The US is so accustomed to bullying others with impunity for so long that it has totally lost touch with reality. It thinks it can do the same to China. Rather than lashing out back at the US, the dragon simply takes the high road and out-competes and out-maneuvers Uncle Sam. Indeed, China is working tirelessly to cancel the US. Beijing has come to the conclusion that Washington is not a reliable or trustworthy partner. They can clearly see that the White House is and will continue to be occupied by lunatics and idiots.

      China is just doing any rational nation would do given the circumstance. More power to them.

    7. Very very easy fix. Simply refurbish old equipment without electronic and semiconductor or need for cloud, software update, WIFI, e-mail, log in pass words….No problem. Any 45 year old can just deal with it with a new set of old glasses,……way faster and more reliable then we have now when it is supposed to be broken.

    8. BRICS+ countries and Asia can borrow from BRIC and China's banks at low interest rate, long payment period for Chinese project team and equipment, so Caterpillar has no business in those projects. Moreover, with costly human resources and the tariff on import steel and aluminium, Caterpillar really has a negative competitive advantage over their peer all over the world.

    9. Huawei is helping the mining equipment manufacturers in China to install intelligent / automatic systems into their machineries .
      You will see more & more efficient and safe mining equipment from China in the next few years .
      While US dock workers are asking for huge salary increases , unmanned docks are operating now in China using Huawei developed systems .
      The US may need to consider relocating their "War resources" into something more constructive !

    10. It is the West that is forcing China to innovate and self-sufficient. So, the West can only blame themselves for the market loss today. I believe that within 10 years from now, China can be fully self-sufficient and ditch all Western market and their technology. So… the West can keep on sanctioning China to "Make China Great Again!" at an accelerated pace.🤣

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