The world’s largest market and production base for machine tools

China has been the world’s largest market for machine tools for almost one decade. Since 2009, the Middle Kingdom has also become the world’s largest manufacturer in this machine segment. During the coming years, the country’s machine tool industry will even further gain in importance:

• Vast capacity expansion projects in key sales markets such as automotive, aviation, railway, energy and electronics will further stimulate the demand for high-tech machine tools and components.
• The Chinese government declared machine tools as one of the key industries during the 12th Five-Year Plan period and has ambitious goals for this industry. There are new giants emerging, which will change the pattern of the whole industry during the coming decade.

Growth opportunities, changing sales markets and emerging competitors

This development has a significant impact on machine tool manufacturers and component suppliers from the early-industrialized countries, primarily by two aspects:

• Attractive business opportunities in the world’s biggest growth market, promoted by a persistent lack of domestic know-how in the high-tech segment in the short-to-medium term.
• Changing sales markets and emerging competitors in the medium-to-long term.

Reliable, clearly structured in-depth analysis

To accommodate this development, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the Chinese machine tool industry in 2011 and early 2012. In its sound approach and wide scope, this study is unique, so far. It has a modular structure and contains the following segments and machine types:

Part I: Market analysis

1. Development 2001-2011

• Past 10 years, production/sales volumes/growth rates until 2011, key sales markets
• Industry structure (Which type of machine tools dominates production?)
• Import/exports of the Chinese machine tool industry

2. Market structure

• Top 20 companies in metal-cutting machines and metal-forming machines
• For each analysed machine sub-segment (as shown in the table above): Leading companies with units produced and sales (for the specific machine type), particular strengths, market position
• Metal cutting and metal forming machine tool clusters

3. Current challenges of the Chinese machine tool industry

• Big but not strong: Current challenges of the Chinese Machine tool industry
• Quantitative and technological development goals of the 12th Five Year plan period and beyond, including technological development goals until 2016 and beyond

4. Support programs, further measurements, private enterprise initiatives

• Governmental upport programs
• Further measurements
• Promising private enterprises, further signs of professionalization

5. Growth forecast

• Perspectives and growth forecast of key sales sectors (aerospace, automotive, railway, energy, shipbuilding, weapon, electronics)
• Capacity expansion plans and growth expectations of interviewed machine tool manufacturers
• Growth forecast until 2015 for the machine types mentioned

6. Critical acclaim of the goals for the Chinese machine tool industry

Part II: Company profiles

There have been 215 Chinese and foreign machine tool manufacturers analysed by interviews and secondary information. The profiles contain the following information:

Your benefits

This study facilitates you

• A detailed overview of an only scarcely researched growth market: Trends and emerging competitors.
• In particular for component suppliers: An easier evaluation and control of existing sales activities.
• The direct, well-informed approach of new customers.