Komatsu Expects Continued Strong Global Demand for Mining Equipment
Komatsu is expecting global demand for its machines, propelled by China and India’s search for coal, iron ore and copper, according to a Bloomberg report. Industrywide sales of dump trucks, excavators and bulldozers, and other mining equipment will increase at least 10 percent to 6,600 units in Komatsu’s fiscal year after a 24-percent hike in the current year, Komatsu officials said.
In a presentation to investors earlier this month, Komatsu officials said its sales of mining equipment will jump 30 percent to about 543 million yen (about U.S. $6.9 billion), and the company is selling machines to mining companies that have projects in Indonesia, Australia and Chile.
The report said Komatsu may enter the underground mining equipment market through an acquisition or through in-house product development. It added that China’s market for excavators is likely to shrink 20 percent in the year ended March 31, but the decline will be offset by increases in North America, Japan and other Asian countries.