Source: Zhiyan Consulting - Industry Research

Abstract: Since 2019, under the circumstances where domestic port business, mining engineering, and power plant generation have continuously improved the safety and environmental protection of the production process, as well as the steady implementation of the "Belt and Road" national strategy, China's conveying machinery industry has achieved steady development, with the market scale continuously expanding. In 2023, the market size of conveying machinery in China was approximately 53 billion yuan, among which belt conveying machinery, as a major subcategory of the industry, had a market size of about 28.6 billion yuan.

I. Definition and Classification

Conveying machinery refers to mechanical equipment used for continuous or intermittent conveying of various materials (including solids, liquids, slurries, etc.). It is widely applied in various industries such as logistics, mining, metallurgy, construction, chemical engineering, and grain processing to achieve the automation and mechanization of material handling, loading and unloading, distribution, and processing. According to the differences in conveying methods, conveying machinery can be classified into multiple categories such as pipeline conveying machinery, belt conveying machinery, and roller conveying machinery. In recent years, with the development of technology, conveying machinery has been constantly undergoing technological innovation and structural optimization to meet more complex and efficient conveying demands.

Ii. Industry Policies

1. Competent authorities and regulatory system

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China are responsible for the management of the macro planning of the conveying machinery industry. The National Development and Reform Commission is mainly responsible for macro management such as researching and formulating industrial policies and industrial development plans, promoting the reform of industry systems, and facilitating the technological development of industries. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China is mainly responsible for macro management such as researching and proposing industrial development strategies, formulating industrial industry plans and policies and implementing them, and guiding the formulation of technical regulations and industry standards for the industrial sector.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China and the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China are responsible for the management of product production and quality in the conveying machinery industry. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China conducts quality supervision over the conveying machinery industry in accordance with industry standards. The National Technical Committee for Standardization of Pulleys and Belts, the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Construction Machinery and Equipment, and the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Chain Drives under the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China are responsible for formulating and revising relevant standards for the conveying machinery industry.

The China Machinery Industry Federation, the China Construction Machinery Association and other national self-regulatory organizations in the conveying machinery industry are responsible for the management of technical standards and industry promotion in the industry. At the same time, they are in charge of industrial and market research in the conveying machinery industry, proposing development suggestions to government departments, and promoting international exchanges of the industry.

2. Industry-related policies

The application scope of conveying machinery is extremely wide. It is one of the common mechanical equipment in daily life and production, involving all aspects of the national economy and playing a fundamental role in promoting the development of the national economy. Among them, the logistics industry is one of the main application fields of conveying machinery. In the field of express delivery services, conveying machinery is applied in express delivery sorting, conveying, etc. In December 2023, the Ministry of Transport and eight other departments issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Integrated Development of Rural Passenger, Freight and Postal Services", proposing that under the premise of ensuring passenger transport safety and passenger transport service functions, it is encouraged to set up independent operation areas. Concentrate on carrying out the operation processes such as loading and unloading, security inspection, sorting and handover of mail and express items to enhance the efficiency of sorting and loading. With the steady implementation of relevant industrial policies, the demand for conveying machinery and equipment will be further driven to grow, providing strong impetus for the development of the industry.

Iii. Industry Barriers

1. Technical barriers

As the market demand for high-performance, high-efficiency and low-energy consumption conveying machinery continues to grow, enterprises must constantly invest funds in technological research and development and innovation to meet these demands. Meanwhile, advanced production processes and manufacturing technologies are also the key for enterprises to remain invincible in market competition. Therefore, enterprises lacking technological research and development capabilities and innovative technologies find it difficult to establish a foothold in the conveying machinery industry, which in turn constitutes a technological barrier for this industry.

2. Market access barriers

The market access barriers in China's conveying machinery industry are reflected in the strict requirements for enterprise product quality, safety production, environmental protection standards and other aspects. New entrants must comply with the relevant national laws, regulations and standards, and pass a series of certifications and tests before they can enter the market. These certifications and tests not only cover the performance and quality of the products themselves, but also include aspects such as the production management, quality control, and environmental protection of enterprises. Therefore, new enterprises need to invest a large amount of human, material and financial resources to ensure that their products and the enterprise fully meet the market access standards.

3. Brand barriers

The brand barriers in China's conveying machinery industry are quite obvious. Enterprises that have established a good brand image have a considerable competitive advantage in the market. These enterprises have attracted a large number of loyal customers and formed a stable market share by virtue of their high-quality products, perfect services and good reputation. New entrants, due to the lack of brand awareness and customer trust, need to spend a great deal of time and energy to accumulate brand assets and customer resources, which forms a relatively high market entry threshold in the short term.

4. Capital barriers

The research and development of conveying machinery products often require a large amount of funds for technological research and development and experimental verification. In the production stage, advanced production equipment needs to be purchased and production lines built. In the sales stage, a large amount of funds need to be invested in market promotion and channel construction. These capital demands pose a significant challenge for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, as they often lack sufficient sources of funds. In contrast, large enterprises, due to their strong financial strength, are more likely to meet these capital demands and thus gain an advantageous position in market competition.

Iv. Development History

China's conveying machinery industry has undergone a development process from its infancy to maturity and then to transformation and upgrading. At present, in the face of changes in the domestic and international economic situation and the diversification of market demands, China's conveying machinery industry has begun to transform and upgrade towards intelligence, greenness and service orientation. Enterprises are constantly increasing their investment in research and development, promoting the high-end and customized development of products, and actively exploring the international market. Overall, China's conveying machinery industry has gone through a tortuous development path. Currently, it has achieved a considerable industrial scale and technological strength, but it still needs to continue to strive to enhance its innovation capabilities and international competitiveness.

The midstream of the industrial chain of China's conveying machinery industry mainly covers the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of conveying machinery. At this stage, enterprises design and develop products based on market demands and customer requirements, and adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and processes to produce various types of conveying machinery. At the same time, the installation and commissioning of the equipment are also required to ensure the stability and reliability of the product during use.

The main application industries of conveying machinery in our country include logistics, mining, metallurgy, power, chemical engineering, building materials, food processing, etc. These industries have a huge demand for the handling and transportation of materials, and conveying machinery plays an irreplaceable role in them. For instance, in the mining industry, conveying machinery is used to transport materials such as coal and ores from underground to the surface. In the metallurgical industry, conveying machinery is used to transport materials such as furnace charges and waste residues in high-temperature environments. The development of these application industries has driven the continuous growth and progress of the conveying machinery industry.

Vi. Industry Status Quo

Conveying machinery was initially developed from abroad and entered China after it became relatively mature. With the improvement of domestic technology levels and the introduction of advanced mechanical manufacturing equipment and processing techniques, China's conveying equipment industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Since 2019, under the circumstances where domestic port business, mining engineering and power plant generation have continuously improved the safety and environmental protection of the production process, as well as the steady implementation of the "Belt and Road" national strategy, China's conveying machinery industry has achieved steady development and its market scale has continued to expand. In 2023, the market size of conveying machinery in China was approximately 53 billion yuan, among which belt conveying machinery, as a major subcategory of the industry, had a market size of about 28.6 billion yuan.

Vii. Development Factors

1. Favorable factors

Infrastructure construction has been steadily advancing

With the continuous investment of the state in transportation, logistics, urban construction and other fields, the scale of infrastructure construction is constantly expanding, and the demand for conveying machinery is also increasing accordingly. As one of the indispensable equipment in infrastructure construction, the increasing market demand for conveying machinery has provided a broad market space for the conveying machinery industry. Meanwhile, the advancement of infrastructure construction has also driven the development of related industries, further promoting the growth of the conveying machinery industry. For instance, with the continuous development of the transportation industry, the logistics industry has also entered a period of rapid growth, and the demand for conveying machinery has increased accordingly.

(2) Transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry

With the continuous advancement of technology and the changes in market demands, the traditional manufacturing model can no longer meet the current market needs. Therefore, the manufacturing industry must undergo transformation and upgrading to adapt to the new market environment. During this process, the conveying machinery industry, as an important component of the manufacturing sector, has also ushered in new market opportunities and development space. With the rapid rise of emerging manufacturing models such as intelligent manufacturing and green manufacturing, the application demands for conveying machinery will tend to be diversified and personalized, which will prompt the conveying machinery industry to accelerate its transformation and upgrading. It provides a broader market space and development prospects for the conveying machinery industry.

(3) Export trade continued to grow

In recent years, with the in-depth development of globalization, the demand for conveying machinery in the international market has steadily increased. As a major manufacturing country in the world, China's conveying machinery products have strong competitiveness in the international market. The growth of export trade not only brings more orders and profits to conveying machinery enterprises, but also drives them to continuously improve product quality and technological level to meet the demands and standards of the international market. Therefore, the continuous growth of export trade has injected strong impetus into the development of China's conveying machinery industry, promoting its continuous expansion and prosperity.

2. Unfavorable factors

(1) Insufficient technological innovation capacity

In the highly competitive global market environment, technological innovation is the key for enterprises to maintain their competitiveness and achieve sustainable development. However, the conveying machinery industry in our country lags behind relatively in technological research and development and innovation, resulting in low technological content of products and making it difficult to meet the demands of the high-end market.

Insufficient technological innovation capabilities make it difficult for enterprises to break through the limitations of traditional manufacturing models. They lack core technologies and high-end products with independent intellectual property rights. This not only restricts the market expansion and profit margins of enterprises but also puts them at a disadvantage in international competition.

(2) It is difficult for the industry to obtain financing

Funds are a crucial support for the operation and development of enterprises. The conveying machinery industry often requires a large amount of capital investment for equipment renewal, technological research and development, and market expansion, among other aspects. However, due to the influence of multiple factors such as the overall low profit level of the industry, the difficulty in risk assessment, and the limited understanding of the industry by financial institutions, conveying machinery enterprises encounter many difficulties in the financing process, which makes it hard for them to obtain sufficient financial support and thus restricts the pace of their scale expansion and technological innovation. This not only affects the market competitiveness and profitability of enterprises, but also may hinder the improvement of the overall technological level of the industry and the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure.

(3) The problem of product homogenization is serious

In the fierce market competition, many enterprises often adopt the strategy of imitation and following in order to compete for market share, resulting in the functions, performance and appearance of conveying machinery products in the market tending to be consistent, lacking differentiation and innovation, which leads to a significant problem of product homogenization in the conveying machinery industry. The emergence of product homogenization not only weakens the brand image and market competitiveness of enterprises, but also may trigger vicious price competition and depress the profit level of the entire industry. At the same time, homogeneous products are hard to meet consumers' increasingly diverse demands, which limits the market's expansion space and hinders the healthy and orderly development of the industry.

Viii. Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of China's conveying machinery industry is rather complex, with a relatively low market concentration. There are numerous enterprises within the industry, which vary in scale, technological level, product variety and market positioning. The competition is intense, resulting in a diversified competitive situation. Among them, enterprises such as Zoomlion Material Conveying Equipment Co., Ltd. have occupied a certain market share in the conveying machinery industry by leveraging the technological research and development and production scale advantages of their parent companies, maintaining a rapid development trend. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises such as Zhuzhou New Era Conveying Machinery Co., Ltd. have been constantly enhancing their R&D capabilities, continuously delving into the conveying machinery market, actively seizing market share, and improving their own competitiveness and influence. In the future, driven by diverse market demands, enterprises will continue to increase their investment in product research and development, constantly expand the application fields of their products, drive high-quality operation and development of enterprises, and promote the continuous improvement of industry concentration.

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