Crane sales plummet in China

A fall of 45% in the number of new mobile cranes sold in China over the first six months of 2012 is largely due to the suspension of railway construction projects, according to a new report.

The report, published by UK-based Off Highway Research, shows sales of fewer than 13,000 new wheeled mobile and crawler cranes in China - close to half the total sold in the previous six months to the end of 2011. The fall follows a continuous annual increase from 2006 to 2010, with a slight fall in 2011, where the annual total was still close to 35,000 units. More than 90% of them were truck cranes, the report said.

"Large volumes of new machines lie idle because of the suspension of many railway projects, and buying confidence has been impacted by falling rental rates," the report explains, going on to say that the fall in rental rates is as high as 30%.

For more information see www.offhighway.co.uk