The progression of the global dump truck market is rather evident from its growth graph that has been depicting steady profitability since the last few years. This can be solely credited to the fact that the unique design of dump trucks has made this equipment an irreplaceable part of industries like construction, mining, and waste management. Dump trucks have proved to be highly essential in material management for such industries and consequently, authorities around the world are shifting focus from fossil fuel driven heavy machineries, making dump trucks increasingly electricity-driven to keep them relevant in an emission free environment.
For instance, in 2018, Volvo launched its first electric garbage truck in Sweden. China’s BYD landed a large deal in the same year in which besides receiving orders for its electric dump trucks from European countries, the company landed a massive order for 500 electric dump trucks from the megacity of Shenzhen.
China dump trucks market, by product, 2019 & 2025 (USD Million)
The increasing demand for electric trucks has determined a conspicuous trend for the dump truck market. It has been found that a single traditional dump truck or a concrete mixer can emit as much exhaust gas as 70 private cars. It was estimated that if all dump trucks in Shenzhen are replaced with electric ones then annual emissions can be decrease by more than 1.6 million tons which is a substantial figure for a country struggling with pollution. Not to mention, Shenzhen has also achieved such a feat in other spheres. For example, the city has electrified its entire bus system creating the world’s biggest electric bus fleet with 16,359 electric vehicles. If Shenzhen extends its ambitious electrification plan to dump trucks, the electric dump trucks market will stand to benefit from the ecofriendly shift the city plans to undertake.
However, even fossil fuel driven dump trucks will not be made irrelevant so easily only due to emission considerations. The expansion of industries like mining and construction are enough to lead to a considerable growth of the global dump truck market.
Mining, for instance is considered pivotal to global economy. Coal, bauxite, iron ore and potash are the most exploited commodities in term of volume. China and the U.S. are the largest coal producing countries in the world. But besides coal China has come to lead the mining industry in the production of various commodities like iron ore and rare earths that are in high demand. Incidentally, China produced over 78% of the global production of rare earths in 2017.
Modern dump trucks with technologically advanced features are adding more value to the mining industry. For instance, Japanese industrial equipment manufacturer Komatsu developed an Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) that manages and operates a fleet of self-driving mining trucks in mining applications like oil sands, copper, iron, and coal. Komatsu has been operating these trucks for over 10 years, a significant achievement in a world which is still striving to develop an autonomous technology advanced enough to be deployed in cars.
Dump trucks are an extremely common equipment to be seen at construction sites not only because they are useful in hauling materials but because their sturdy build and tires are ideal for the rough nature of construction sites. The dump truck market therefore stands to increase its profit margin from a rapidly expanding global construction industry which is expected to reach a trillion-dollar output by 2020.
For instance, new laws that are exerting the importance of renewable energy has led to a flurry of construction activity in the renewable energy sector. The increasing population and demand for expansive urbanization is adding impetus to the residential construction sector while increasing economic stability and disposable income is adding strength to the commercial sector that is leading to increased construction of commercial buildings as well. Such factors together are working in favor of the growth of dump truck market through the promising forecast for the construction industry.
Besides the problem with climate change and greenhouse gas emission, the world is also grappling with the problem of rising waste management which has added a significant boost to the demand of garbage dump trucks. Considering the emission levels of dump trucks, garbage dump trucks are also increasingly becoming electric. Garbage dump trucks have proved to the “low hanging fruit” for electrification due to the start-stop nature of these dump trucks that make them ideal to be outfitted with regenerative braking and therefore highly economical.
Experts are of the opinion that the rapid adoption of electric garbage dump trucks can be the precursor of wide rollout of such trucks in the U.S. and Europe. With energy efficient dump trucks replacing older, fossil fuel guzzling ones, the dump truck market is slated to record immense growth over 2019-2025.