The way we deliver products from point A to point B is changing. This transformation is creating new partnerships, with implications affecting more than just the transportation industry.
Our team at Power Systems Research provides market intelligence to companies working in and around transportation and mobility functions.
Ford Motor Company, Argo AI, and Walmart are working together to launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. — Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the U.S. The last-mile delivery service will use Ford self-driving test vehicles equipped with the Argo AI Self-Driving System to deliver Walmart orders.
The collaboration brings together a self-driving technology provider with an automotive manufacturer able to integrate that technology with vehicles at scale, plus the world’s largest retailer.
Today Joe Delmont presents the 2021 forecast for Crawler production in North America. This forecast has been developed by Carol Turner, senior analyst of global operations, at Power Systems Research. Carol provides annual production forecasts for important equipment applications.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
Market Share: With combined plant totals of 55% Caterpillar leads in production of crawlers in North America. In second position is Deere with 31.5%; third, is Case with 10%.
South Korean automotive battery giants are moving into the U.S. market, with SK Innovation teaming up with Ford and LG Chemical with GM to promote the construction of an automotive battery plant. SK plans to invest about 300 billion yen in the plant to produce 22 gigawatt-hours of automotive batteries, enough to power 220,000 EVs a year, and in a joint venture with Ford, the two companies will invest 600 billion yen to build a giant 60-gigawatt plant.
SK’s annual production capacity as of 2019 is only 5 gigabytes at its Korean plant. The capacity is expected to increase to 30 gigawatts in 2020 with the launch of plants in China and Hungary, to 85 gigawatts in 2023 with the addition of the US plant, and to exceed 185 gigawatts in 2025 with the addition of the joint venture with Ford. SK, a late entrant to the market, ranks sixth with a 5% share of the global market in 2020.
SUMMARY. After the GDP declined 3.5% last year, the worst performance in almost 75 years, the US economy is set for a strong comeback. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the economy for the next few years, including strong readings of macro-economic factors combined with the economic cycle reset backed by government initiatives and policies.
Our positive outlook is based on the reviews of key economic indicators, including GDP, unemployment, and inflation.
During H1 2021, we witnessed a strong level of activities and a rebound for many industries. As local governments eased lockdown restrictions, service-oriented industries gained traction and that translated to an overall increase of economic activities across many industries.
We expect this level of rebound to continue and we now expect even stronger overall growth for 2021. The US economy is on track to reach or even surpass the growth level of 1984 – the highest one since 1950s. In the near term, consumer spending will help drive demand and support the strong growth trend.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
Market Share: With combined plant totals of 47.5% Caterpillar leads in production of excavators in North America. In second position is Doosan Bobcat with 22%; third, is Deere-Hitachi with 14.5%.
Cities, nationally and globally, are embarking on innovative efforts to harness the benefits of rapidly emerging technologies to improve citizens’ quality of life, increase operational efficiency, and enhance economic vitality and sustainability.
These efforts often involve changing the nature of data storage and transfer, primarily by moving these steps from data storage “clouds” to local data centers closer to the application.
Since Power Systems Research began tracking global equipment manufacturers in 1976, its analysts have been aware of new technologies and electrification trends such as these which can affect future markets. Today, we’re closely following these changes in data transfer and storage.
It’s often said that there’s nothing new under the sun, only new ways of doing old things. That may be especially true in how we handle data.
Ever since Power Systems Research began tracking global production of engines and powertrains in 1976, its analysts have been alert to new trends surrounding power and data movement.
Today, as three essential metrics in data handling change— cloud costs, volume and processing time—, the structure of data networks also is changing. In many cases, it’s not practical to send vast amounts of data to the cloud to be processed and then wait for the results. Now, it’s often necessary to have smaller data centers located near the activity, at the edge of the action, if you will.
We have heard during the past few years that battery electric commercial trucks will ultimately replace the diesel-powered internal combustion engine for commercial trucks. At some point in the future this might be true for short and regional haul freight carriers, but what about the long-haul heavy truck segment?
Currently, the lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety and the extreme weights associated with the batteries will be a significant deterrent to mass adoption of long-haul battery electric trucks.
95,100 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Skid Steer Loaders to be produced in North America (Canada and the U.S.) in 2021.
This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.
EDITOR’S NOTE. Power Systems Research tracks the global trends powersports recreational equipment, especially the electrification of these units. This is one of a series of reports on these trends.
Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire strategy includes these key take-aways:
Unique lineage: LiveWire draws on its DNA from the lineage of Harley-Davidson, capitalizing on a decade of experience in the EV sector.
Motorcycles + beyond: with an initial focus on the urban market.
Virtual HQ: LiveWire will be headquartered virtually, with initial hubs in Silicon Valley, CA (LiveWire Labs) and Milwaukee, WI.
Marketplace: LiveWire will work with participating dealers from the Harley-Davidson network as an independent brand. A go-to-market model will blend digital and physical retail formats.
Dedicated showroom: LiveWire will operate dedicated EV showrooms in select locations, starting in California.
Technology focus: LiveWire plans to develop the technology of the future and to invest in the capabilities needed to lead the transformation of motorcycling. LiveWire expects to benefit from Harley-Davidson’s engineering expertise, manufacturing footprint, supply chain infrastructure, and global logistics capabilities.
Technology sharing: Harley-Davidson and LiveWire intend to cooperate and share their technological advancements to ensure an industry leading application in their respective core segments.
POLARIS FIRST QUARTER 2021 EARNINGS RESULTS. Polaris released first quarter 2021 results with reported sales of $1,951 million, up 39% from reported sales of $1,405 million for the first quarter of 2020. The company reported first quarter 2021 net income of $134 million compared with a net loss of $5 million for the 2020 first quarter.
Gross profit increased 64% to $481 million for the first quarter of 2021 from $293 million in the first quarter of 2020. Reported gross profit margin was 24.6% of sales for the first quarter of 2021.
Polaris Product Segment Highlights:
Off-Road Vehicles (“ORV”) and Snowmobiles totaled $1,232 million for the first quarter of 2021, up 50% compared to $824 million for the first quarter of 2020. PG&A sales for ORV and Snowmobiles combined increased 51% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter last year.
Motorcycles totaled $166 million, up 31% compared to the first quarter of 2020, driven primarily from increased sales of Slingshot, Indian Motorcycles.
Global Adjacent Markets segment sales, including PG&A, increased 27% to $125 million in the 2021 first quarter compared to $98 million in the 2020 first quarter driven by increases in demand in North America and EMEA.
Aftermarket segment sales of $230 million in the 2021 first quarter increased 14% compared to $202 million in the 2020 first quarter. Transamerican Auto Parts (TAP) sales of $193 million in the first quarter of 2021 increased nine percent compared to $177 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Boat segment sales increased 29% to $199 million in the 2021 first quarter compared to $155 million in the 2020 first quarter, driven by sales growth in all three brands, Bennington, Godfrey and Hurricane.
POWERSPORTS MARKET ANALYSIS. The powersports market observed a slowdown during the first two quarters of 2020 driven by the spread of the COVID-19. Shortages of labor and materials in the first quarter led to many industry challenges. Governments began lifting the lockdown restrictions to stabilize the economic activities in the third quarter of 2020. During this period, the powersports industry witnessed steady growth owing to the rising inclination of individuals toward participating in outdoor recreational activities while complying with social distancing norms.
Powersports market size exceeded $34 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at around 6% CAGR between 2021 and 2027. The global power sports unit sales are anticipated to reach over 3 million units by 2027. PSR
Michael Aistrup is Senior Analyst covering Recreational Products for Power Systems Research
