Chinese manufacturers of construction machinery have raised prices as sales take off, in an early sign of how economic activity is resuming after weeks of shutdown during the coronavirus epidemic. Some of China’s leading heavy equipment manufacturers have announced 5-10 percent price increases since sales hit a record high in March, when infrastructure construction rebounded. The national lockdown pummelled the world’s second-largest economy, with gross domestic product contracting 6.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. But manufacturers hope the uptick in equipment sales heralds a sustained recovery.
At Anhui Heli Co, a forklift truckmaker in the central city of Hefei, workers have begun taking weekend shifts since March to meet growing demand. An executive at Heli said sales were “very strong” as infrastructure investment “bounced back”. Sales of excavators rose 12 percent year on year in March following a 51 percent plunge in the previous month, according to official data.
Hengli Hydraulic Co, based in the eastern province of Jiangsu, reported a more than 50 percent jump in orders of high-pressure tanks, a key component of excavators, this month from a year earlier. “This points to strong sales of construction machinery down the road,” said a company official.
Makers of construction machinery have been quick to profit from the trend as nearly a dozen excavator makers, led by industry leaders Sany and Zoomlion, raised prices.
“Our clients are so eager to start new construction that they don’t mind paying extra,” said an executive at Liugong Machinery, which this month raised prices by up to 10 percent on a range of products including loaders and excavators. A Chinese excavator usage index compiled by CICC, an investment bank, was 13.7 percent up in March following a 22,4 percent drop in the first quarter of this year.