China MEWP market to hit maturity in eight years

Zhang Tan Na, president of the rental branch at China Construction Industry Association (CCIA), told the IRC conference, taking place in Shanghai on Oct. 22, that the China MEWP sector will reach equal maturity to markets in Europe and North America in the next five to eight years. 

Providing the welcome address at the International Rental Conference Asia, Zhang explained that there is a major adoption of aerial platforms, despite a flat construction market. 

”The benefits of aerial platforms have been recognised and adopted by contractors in China, and in the context of a marginal decline in the construction market, the sales volume of platforms not only did not decline, but have actually grown rapidly.”

The MEWP population in China grew by 30.5% in 2019, following growth of 45.5% in 2017. Rather than this showing a fall in market conditions, it demonstrates the increasing maturity of the market, said Zhang. 

There were more 100,000 units in the Chinese market in 2018 and Zhang said that this number was expected to increase over the next five to eight years, bringing the market up to the level found in fully developed MEWP markets.

In further flung regions outside the first AWP adopters in China like Beijing and Shanghai, growth is as still as high as 200%. “The AWP market is seeing far reaching and massive change,” said Zhang. 

In Shanghai, the rental sector is maturing in line with the expanding MEWP population, with the number of rental companies in the city growing 73% year-on-year. This is also bringing about a more diverse offering, including companies with specialised fleets. 

Zgang added, “Under the leadership of leading companies such as Shanghai Hongxin, rental companies are becoming stronger and bigger. The number with fleets exceeding 500 units has increased from 11 in 2017 to 19 last year.”