EDITOR’S NOTE: Eric Best, engine research analyst at Power Systems Research, is walking the floor at CONEXPO 2020, looking for new engine and power train products.Here is his report on two innovative companies.
Eric Best
FPT Industrial
FPT has bought out a methane/natural gas company, a battery company, and a hydrogen company, and my contact has no worries about the future of electrification or alternative fuels.
MOSCOW–The Moscow Boat Show conducted here March 5-9 in the Crocus City Expo center occupied two exhibition halls with total square of 19,000 sq.m., but it was much different in several ways than previous shows.
Maxim Sakov
The number of boats shown was 30% less than during last year’s event. And the organizers of the show left a lot of empty space even in the dedicated halls. This looked strange because often there were only narrow passages between boats.
Surprisingly, more than 50% of the boats at the fair were produced domestically. Jeanneau, Beneteau and some other brands were also here, brought by a local dealer, but in smaller sizes and numbers than last year’s show. Some EU and Turkish shipyards exhibited at the fair, but did not bring anything besides marketing materials.
(ST. PAUL, Minn., USA) – Our team members in China face daily challenges as they navigate the myriad regulations and safety measures implemented by local authorities and the national government attempting to control the spread of coronavirus (COVID19).
Confinement to home is the hardest part. Schools have yet to re-open after the Spring Festival holiday. Special IDs proving one is a local resident must be presented when going outside. Store visits are restricted to one person per household every two to five days, depending on your location.
Foton says it will start producing Trucks in Guaíba-RS, in
the facility formerly designated for his own factory. However, the production
will be handled by GEFCO under a manufacturing contract, with parts imported
from China. Previously, Foton assembled its trucks at the Agrale plant, also in
Rio Grande do Sul state, to meet commitments made under government incentive
programs. The number of models built here is likely to increase during the
year, but no details have been disclosed.
PSR Analysis: At the same time Foton works on local production, it is working on adding about 50 dealers from Ford Trucks, which closed its operations in Brazil, to eliminate one of the biggest gaps to increase sales. The other gaps, such as reliability perception and spare parts availability, will take longer to be addressed, but we can see growth in sales and production of the Chinese OEM in Brazil, given more positive market conditions. PSR
Fabio Ferraresi is Director-Business Development SA
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%, Caterpillar leads in production of Wheel Loaders/Dozers in the United States. In second position is Deere with 22%. Third, is Case New Holland with 8%.
JAPAN–Honda plans to introduce 200 electric motorcycles for postal delivery services by March 2020, and around 2,000 units are expected be introduced in FY2020. Approximately 85,000 postal delivery motorcycles are running in Japan today, and all are made by Honda. There are also three-wheel models, but most are Super Cubs, which has a reputation for reliability. At first, these EV bikes will be deployed in Tokyo, where the driving range is small, and in other local ordinance-designated cities.
Akihito Komuro
The base unit is the electric motorcycle for business use,
the Benly e-series. Honda will start selling it to corporations in April 2020.
This is a 96V system in which two lithium-ion batteries with a voltage of 48V
are connected in series. Charging is performed by removing the battery from the
vehicle and using a special charger; it takes about four hours to reach full
charge from zero.
Honda says the bike has a maximum output of 3.8PS and achieves
a 12-degree slope uphill performance with maximum load capacity. The cruising
range is 87km for Benly e: I and 43km for Benly e: II. According to Honda
officials, the bike can be operated for one day considering the delivery range,
but in most cases it will return to the post office during lunch break, and a battery
can be replaced at that time.
SUMMARY. The North American economy remained stable in 2019 and pure economic conditions as well as fundamentals in the region were favorable. Most industries performed very well, and the short-term outlook remains stable to flat for most market segments. However, we see many new developments that could suggest a shift in the trend.
Yosyf Sheremeta
Consumer confidence declined slightly in December, following
a moderate increase in November. The
Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index stood at 126.5 in December, 1.4
points higher than in September 2019.
Per Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at
The Conference Board: “While consumers’ assessment of current conditions
improved, their expectations declined, driven primarily by a softening in their
short-term outlook regarding jobs and financial prospects. While the economy
hasn’t shown signs of further weakening, there is little to suggest that
growth, and in particular consumer spending, will gain momentum in early 2020.”
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is
North America’s largest construction trade show representing the construction
and concrete industries. Even though
we’ll have a full team at the show with nearly a dozen PSR representatives, it
will be difficult to hit all of the 2,800 exhibitor areas so let us know how we
can meet up with you.
We always welcome
the opportunity to engage and meet with the industry. An in-person meeting provides that chance to
place a face with a name, discuss industry trends as well as explore any
challenges that we might be able to help you tackle!
If there’s a time
that works best for us to visit with you at the show, please let us know. Just call or drop us an email.
Email us at info@powersys.com or call us at 651.905.8400, and we’ll plan to get together. PSR
THAILAND–Vehicles produced in Thailand are exported to the world, including Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Europe. However, the automobile industry is in trouble because of the double punch of the global economy slowing down due to the US-China trade friction and the spread of the new coronavirus.
Akihito Komuro
Exports, which account for half of Thailand’s automobile
production, where Japanese and other automakers such as Toyota and Honda have
production bases, have fallen, and vehicle production turned negative for the
first time in five years in 2019. In addition, the spread of the new
coronavirus is catching up. It is expected that the impact on Thailand’s
automobile industry will be even greater if the shutdown of factories in China
and production cutoffs are prolonged and parts procurement is delayed.
PSR Analysis: From about September 2019, it has been reported that many Southeast Asian automobile industries, including Thailand, have begun to slow down, but this has been attributed to a slowdown in trade due to US-China trade friction.
Today, of course, there is the same problem, but the rapid spread of COVID-19 is a new problem. Many automotive industries around the world are supported by the supply of parts from China, and a slowdown in supply could severely impact car production. Especially in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Indonesia. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is a Research Analyst covering the Far East and Southeast Asia for Power Systems Research.
This truck has a very unusual design. The database of
Rospatent has shown drawings of a cabless truck with an electric motor. The patent
owner is KAMAZ. The truck has a very unusual appearance because it doesn’t have
a cabin – it’s a box on wheels with low clearance, and it features round head
and rear lights, and a vent grid. No details are available about the motor,
except that it’s electric.
Maxim Sakov
The truck looks somewhat like the Volvo Vera truck.
Last year, KAMAZ started testing a driverless truck developed for coal transportation in one of Kuzbass mines. It is equipped with cruise-control and a system for bypassing obstacles and making lane changes.
PSR Analysis: The future is next door. Of course, it’s a long way from the patent to the working vehicle, but the trend is clear. KAMAZ has concentrated technologies for creation of a driverless electric truck and has patented them. PSR