China’s economic growth slowed down in 2012, and the growth rates of shipbuilding, construction steel structure, oil and gas pipeline industries decreased to varied extent, thus causing the weakened demand for welding & cutting equipment. In 2012, Chinese welding & cutting equipment market valued RMB33.9 billion with a year-on-year growth rate of 14%, while the growth rate was high up to 20% in 2010 and 2011.
As a new type of welding & cutting equipment, inverter welding & cutting equipment is replacing traditional one in most fields by virtue of high working frequency, fast response, excellent welding performance, energy saving and environmental friendliness, small size and light weight, and its market growth rate is higher than the average level of the whole welding & cutting equipment market.
In 2012, Chinese market size of inverter welding & cutting equipment reached RMB10.4 billion, up 18% from a year earlier, and contributing 31% to the welding & cutting equipment market value from 29% in 2010. In view of the uncertainty of China’s economic growth over the next two years, the growth rate of the overall welding & cutting equipment market is expected to remain at about 5% in 2013-2014, and the growth rate of the inverter welding & cutting equipment market will be 12-13% because of ever high substitution rate.
Affected by the falling downstream demand, the customers preferred low-end inverter welding products in 2012. The low-end products feature low added value, resulting in decreased profitability of major Chinese inverter welding & cutting manufacturers.
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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, March 7, 2013