India to be one of key growth markets for construction & quarrying equipment

India will be one of the key growth markets for construction and quarrying equipment in the coming years, as machine sales worldwide continues their slow but steady recovery, having gone from US$102 billion in 2011, to an estimated $72 billion in 2016. That’s the view of David Phillips, managing director of Off Highway Research, and one that I fully endorse, having written about and commissioned many pieces for Aggregates Business International Asia, Africa & Middle East on the growing infrastructure development-fuelled demand for aggregates across the giant nation of 1.2 billion people, and its increasingly sophisticated quarrying and construction equipment offering.
Indeed, as 417 Euro Auctions, a leading international new and used construction and quarrying equipment auction firm, notes in its recent fascinating world market report, more of which is covered in this issue, India is expected to be the fastest growing construction market in the world, and by 2030 will account for 18% of all global growth with a market reaching $1.5 trillion. To put that in perspective, that’s a growth rate ALMOST TWICE as fast as China. The Euro Auctions’ report continues: “India also has the largest housing needs globally, with an anticipated 170 million new homes needed by 2030. Delhi, for example, is forecast to grow by 10.4 million people from its current 25.7 million, vying with Tokyo-Yokohama, currently at 38 million but forecast to shrink, and Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, with its 31.3 million inhabitants, to become the world’s largest city.”

An example of the new wealth of crushing and screening expertise within India can be found in this edition’s Quarry Profile. Partha Pratim Basistha discovers how the Pachami crushing zone in eastern India, around 250km north of Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal, is full of quarries embracing the latest production and efficiency enhancing technology. Alongside machines from global industry heavyweights such as 473 Volvo Construction Equipment, 460 Sandvik, 385 Atlas Copco and 436 Komatsu are crushing and screening models from ambitious Indian manufacturers, such as Torsa Machines.

The strong growth forecast for the Indian construction and quarrying equipment market is sure to be a hot topic of conversation amongst exhibitors and attendees at 8253 bauma CONEXPO India 2016 in Delhi (12-15 December). It will be very interesting to hear their views.

In an ABI Comment piece earlier this year I talked about how China remains a key battleground for quarrying and construction equipment manufacturers. The U.S.-based industry research firm, the 969 Freedonia Group, notes how China accounted for half of all new aggregates demand worldwide during the 2010-2015 period.

However, as you will read in this issue’s Market Report, China’s aggregates demand is expected by industry experts, including China Aggregates Net, to be down by as much as 30% in 2016. Despite this, there are many, including Dave Beatenbough, 441 LiuGong’s Vice President of R&D, who are painting an optimistic picture of the country’s aggregates and linked construction and quarrying equipment demand.

This is based on the need for huge infrastructure projects focused on China’s poorer regions, and the ongoing need to develop the nation’s real estate market.

While welcome growth in world aggregates demand is likely to come from India, all those connected to the quarrying and construction sector will also be hoping for better industry news from China in 2017 and beyond.