Increasing mining activities globally is estimated to drive the surface mining equipment market over the forecast period. Population explosion has consequently increased the demand for food, thereby increasing the need for mineral fertilizers to improve agricultural yield; this is expected to be conducive for market growth over the next seven years. Increasing mining activities, resource exploration, and the high demand for valuable metals such as silver, platinum, gold etc is anticipated to boost the market over the forecast period. Coal mining is also expected to emerge as a high growing activity, and it involves the use of equipment such as scraper conveyors, road headers and coal winning machines. Growing demand for coal which is used for electricity generation purpose is expected to provide positive avenues for the surface mining equipment industry growth in the foreseeable future. Increasing population along with augmented economic activity has significantly boosted demand for coal for electricity generation and heating purposes.
Technological advancements and increasing demand for oil sands and gas are expected to provide opportunities for surface mining equipment market growth. Increasing investments in discovery of new oil and gas fields is expected to fuel market demand over the forecast period. Environment regulations such as the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 by the U.S. government and public protests may hinder the surface mining equipment industry growth over the forecast period. Increasing seismic activities may hinder market growth over the next six years. Additionally, environmental mining activities may result in adverse environmental conditions including contamination and soil erosion, which may restrict market growth over the forecast period. Increasing differences in tariff restrictions and import duties, as well as security concerns are estimated to negatively affect the mineral mining market. Reducing harmful emissions without affecting the performance may act as a challenge to market growth.
The surface mining equipment market can be segmented based on the type such as open-pit mining, strip mining, mountaintop removal, highwall mining and dredging. Highwall surface mining equipment enables coal mining from underneath the final highwall. Open-pit surface mining equipment is used for extracting minerals or rocks from earth. Mountaintop removal used to mine the summit ridge or summit of a mountain. Strip mining is used to mine lignite (brown coal) and coal. Dredging is used mine the minerals from underwater.
Asia Pacific regional surface mining equipment market is estimated to grow considerably over the forecast period owing to growing demand in countries such as India and China. Europe and North America are anticipated to lose market share over the forecast period owing to barriers such as government strict regulations on coal fired power plants and coal mine operations in the U.S.
Key players in the surface mining equipment market include Komatsu Limited, Caterpillar Inc.,Sandvik AB, Atlas Copco AB, and Hitachi Construction Machinery.
