Download our special report CORONAVIRUS, Impact on the global production for engines and powered equipment. Available April 15, 2020.
Joe Zirnhelt
Over the first quarter of 2020 the concern over the coronavirus has grown each week. Since first hearing the news out of China and the virus’ spread to South Korea, we have been able to observe the effects on supply chains and production.
Time is of the essence
Although news and concern increased since that time, the week of March 10 and the classification of the coronavirus as a pandemic by the World Health Organization dramatically shifted many measures into action across the globe.
In late March, about halfway through the United States’ first round of social distancing, Generac CEO Aaron Jagdfeld spoke with Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith about whether Generac was seeing a spike in demand from COVID-19.
Tyler Wiegert
Smith noted that the power generation segment tends to do better during and after a natural disaster, and wanted to know the answer to a question that has also been on our minds at Power Systems Research: “Is COVID-19 a Natural Disaster?”
Like many of the other questions surrounding COVID-19, like “Is the United States heading into a recession?” or “How do we distribute scarce medical resources?” the answer isn’t clear cut.
Additionally, hotels and other buildings are being converted into temporary hospitals as states prepare for their regular ICUs to reach capacity. He states that those buildings might not have typically had back-up power, but now need to be quickly outfitted to meet regulations for critical care centers.
Recently I was at a dinner with visiting members of my family discussing the noble transition that many manufacturers are making from producing their typical goods to producing essential goods and equipment for the coronavirus fight.
Tyler Wiegert
One that came up was Tesla’s transition to making ventilators, and one member of my family began to say that they wouldn’t want a Tesla ventilator if they were hospitalized, because it would probably catch fire and explode.
My fiance is in medicine rather than in our industry, so she took that to be a serious comment about the risk of ventilators sparking in an oxygen-rich environment. But it quickly became clear that this critic just has a deep and abiding skepticism of battery technology, because they repeatedly brought the conversation back to battery fires and cars exploding, despite there having been only 14 reported cases of Tesla vehicles catching fire between 2013 and 2019, with most of those happening after accidents.
At Power Systems Research our business is based on being informed: Globally, and in several important industry segments.
Even as the coronavirus affects markets and industries and companies worldwide, we’re continuing to work effectively for our clients. We’re adjusting our operations hourly to meet the changing needs caused by coronavirus. Our IT staff has adapted PSR systems so our analysts around the world can work at home and communicate easily and effectively with each other and with the home office.
This article appeared in the March 2020 issue of PowerTALK™ News
March 23, 2020–Komatsu has launched the SMARTCONSTRUCTION Retrofit kit, the add-on kit to offer ICT capabilities, such as 3D machine guidance and payload measurement, to conventional construction equipment in Japan in late April through LANDLOG Ltd.
Akihito Komuro
Conventional construction equipment with no ICT capabilities
account for over 98% of all construction equipment working on construction
sites in Japan. When the SMARTCONSTRUCTION Retrofit kit is added to
conventional equipment, it will enable the equipment to use ICT functions, such
as 3D machine guidance and payload measurement, about on par with ICT-intensive
equipment.
Haval, the Chinese manufacturer, said it plans to build its own
engine plant in the Tula region of Russia. Work is scheduled start this month (March
2020). The planned investment in the project is US$ 270 million. This information
comes from press-service of Haval Motor Rus.
Maxim Sakov
It’s expected that the new plant will produce 80,000 engines
annually, increasing the localization level of SUVs by several thousand units
annually. Total personnel number in automotive plant exceeds 1000 people. Read
The Article
PSR Analysis: The first Russian Haval plant opened in May of 2019. Current production capacity is 80 Haval SUVs. The plant will be located on a 10,000 sq.m. site next to the Haval automotive plant. It will provide more than 300 jobs.
Claas is Shifts Production of Tucano 320 Harvester To Russia.
In April 2020, Russian plant Claas in Krasnodar will start
producing the Tucano 320 grain combine. During the first two years, this model
will be produced simultaneously in Germany and in Russia. Beginning in 2022,
the plant in Krasnodar will became the sole maker for this model. The move
opens opportunities to increase production and export volumes for the Russian
plant.
China is one of the leading suppliers of auto components to
India, and this supply chain was significantly interrupted in Q1 2020 by the
caronavirus. In 2018-19, components worth an estimated US$4.5 billion (out of a
total of approximately $17 billion) were exported from China to India. Most of
this trade is in electronic components, EGR modules, fuel injection pumps,
turbochargers, meter sets, LEDs, magnets, airbag components, and steering
system components.
Since the discovery of the Coronavirus in December 2019,
this supply chain has been affected. The covid-19 pandemic has started taking a
toll on components supply and automotive production in India. The situation is
further amplified, as China has terminated all sea routes to other parts of the
world.
The railway network is rapidly expanding in Bangkok,
Thailand, the core city of Southeast Asia. The aim is to disperse urban
functions that have become severely congested due to urban development and the
rapid increase in the number of cars.
Based on the capacity of EV-equipped batteries sold in
January 2020, the three largest Korean battery companies (LG Chem, Samsung SDI
and SK Innovation) have a combined share of 30.8%, exceeding 30% for the first
time. In the ranking of total power consumption of EV batteries, China’s CATL is
in the top place for the third consecutive year, LG Chem is in third place,
Samsung SDI is in fifth place, and SK Innovation is in tenth place. For the
first time, SK Innovation has joined the Top 10.
PSR Analysis: Coronavirus has changed many things in China, but it is not going to delay the implementation or reduce the determination of the Beijing local government to curb air pollution.
Starting in May, we will see more stringent emission regulations and more law enforcement of off-road machines. The regulation gives local government more authority and convenient access to emission device details. For the first time, this regulation provides regional coordination among Beijing and its neighboring provinces like Hebei and Tianjin. They are not the only region to do this; more and more cities in Yangtze and Zhujiang Delta region are coordinating on legislation and law enforcement in efforts to curb air pollution. PSR
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