The construction machinery market has picked up. In February, the year-on-year decline in domestic sales of excavators in my country narrowed, and the growth rate of exports returned to positive.

According to statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, in February 2023, 26 excavator manufacturers sold 21,450 excavators of various types, a year-on-year decrease of 12.4%, of which 11,492 were domestic units, a year-on-year decrease of 32.6%; exports were 9,958 units, a year-on-year increase of 34%. %. From January to February 2023, the sales volume of excavators was 31,893 units, a year-on-year decrease of 20.4%; of which 14,929 were domestic units, a year-on-year decrease of 41.1%; exports were 16,964 units, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%.

The Paper learned that the year-on-year decline in excavator sales in February narrowed by 20.7 percentage points from the previous month, of which the year-on-year decline in domestic sales narrowed by 25.9 percentage points from the previous month, and the year-on-year growth rate of export sales turned from negative to positive. It is worth noting that in the first two months of this year, my country's excavator export sales exceeded domestic sales.

Orient Securities Research reported that sales of excavators in February were in line with expectations, and the continued slump in domestic sales year-on-year was related to the short-term impact of the national standard switch and Spring Festival factors.

In terms of actual construction, according to data from Komatsu's official website, the operating hours of Komatsu excavators in China in February were 76.4 hours, a year-on-year increase of 61%, ending 11 months of year-on-year decline and a month-on-month increase of 79.8%. From the perspective of other regions in the world, in February, the operating hours of Komatsu excavators in China, North America, and Indonesia all achieved positive year-on-year growth.

It is worth noting that among overseas markets, the Southeast Asian market has a large demand for engineering construction, and the number of operating hours has continued to increase year-on-year for more than 24 months. According to Komatsu data, the average monthly operating hours in Southeast Asia in 2022 will be 198 hours, which is 2-4 times that of other regions or countries.

Guotai Junan Research Report stated that considering the steady increase in demand for engineering construction in overseas regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa, the products of domestic enterprises are more cost-effective, and the electrification is progressing rapidly, it is expected to accelerate their overseas expansion. The global phenomenon of Chinese manufacturing and supply is obvious, and domestic enterprises are expected to further improve the global market Accounting rate.

Domestically, this year's government work report pointed out that 3.8 trillion yuan of new special bonds will be issued in 2023, an increase from the 2022 quota. Superimposed on the acceleration of the issuance of new special bonds in January 2023, it will help the recovery of the infrastructure industry and is expected to stimulate the demand for construction machinery.

Orient Securities Research Report stated that with the implementation of the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s adjustment and optimization measures for real estate equity financing, the recovery of infrastructure and real estate is expected to increase, and the bottom-up effect of real estate infrastructure will gradually emerge, which is expected to stimulate a rebound in downstream real estate demand.

According to the Zheshang Securities Research Report, based on the 8th year of excavators as the update peak period, domestic excavator update demand will bottom out in 2023, and update demand and exports will dominate, driving the sales of the excavator industry to gradually bottom out. Assuming that the sales of excavators will decline by 5% in 2023, the growth rate of exports will decline, and the annual export growth will be 30%, which can hedge the 30% decline in China. It is expected that the sales of excavators will bottom out in 2023.