This article is copied from: China Industry Daily
Guo Yu, China Industry News
"In 2022 and the next few years, the development pattern of the bearing industry will undergo significant changes, and the development speed will present a trend of low growth, with an average annual growth rate of around 3%." Niu Hui, Secretary General of the China Bearing Industry Association, elaborated on the development of the industry in a special report titled "Analysis of Economic Operation of the Bearing Industry in 2021 and Prospects for 2022.".
He said that 2021 was the first year of China's "14th Five Year Plan". The overall macroeconomic situation of the country was stable, and the production and operation of industrial enterprises continued to recover. The overall production and operation of the bearing industry maintained a good level of development, and the growth rate also reached a higher level in the past decade. It is worth mentioning that last year, the growth rate of the bearing industry and the overseas market both reached record highs.
Good performance Import and export hit a record high
In 2021, China's bearing industry achieved a business income of 227.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.52%. The output of bearings reached 23.3 billion sets, an increase of 32.7% compared to the same period in 2020. The foreign exchange used for bearing imports was 5.47 billion US dollars, an increase of 25.3% compared to the same period in 2020, and the import of 2.964 billion sets of bearings, an increase of 17.7% compared to the same period in 2020. The import and export of bearings hit a record high.
The growth rate of operating revenue hit a new high in nearly 10 years. The main operating revenue of 125 major enterprises in 2021 was 107.408 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.87%. The top ten enterprises in the industry have undergone new changes, with the main operating income of 63.722 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.01%. Industrial production has shown rapid growth, and the bearing production and sales ratio is in a balanced state. Although the inventory growth rate is high, it is still within a reasonable range. The profit growth rate is 20 percentage points higher than the tax growth rate. For the first time in nearly five years, employees have shown growth, and the growth rate of main bearing export revenue is 16.58 percentage points lower than the national export and foreign exchange growth rate.
The export of bearings across the country has reached a record high, while the United States, Germany, and India are still among the main export countries of bearings, accounting for nearly 30%. Asia, Europe, and the Americas are still the main markets for China's bearing exports, accounting for nearly 98%. Bearing industry clusters in seven provinces and cities in China earn over 80% of their foreign exchange through export, with Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, Shanghai City, Shandong Province, Liaoning Province, Hebei Province, and Henan Province ranking among the top seven.
Bering imports also hit a record high. Japan, Germany and Taiwan, China Province of China are the main bearing import regions in China, accounting for nearly 60%.
The market is facing shocks and remains stable this year
In 2022, China's macro economy is facing demand contraction and supply shocks, with raw material prices remaining high, the number of workers falling, dual control of energy consumption, power and production restrictions, and constraints on key core components. The weak industrial foundation and unstable supply chain of the industrial chain need to be broken through. Experts predict that the mechanical industry will achieve high-quality development and stable growth in 2022, or it will show a trend of low in the front and high in the rear. The China Machinery Industry Federation predicted that the growth rate of operating revenue of China's machinery industry in 2022 is expected to reach about 5.5%, and the profit level is the same as that in 2021.
According to the trend prediction of the mechanical industry, as well as the development trend of the bearing supporting industry, especially the bearing supporting automotive industry, the rapid development of new energy vehicles will have a significant impact on automotive bearings.
China Automobile Association predicts that in 2022, vehicle sales will reach 27.5 million units, an increase of 5.4%, with a net increase of 1.225 million units, while new energy vehicles will reach 5 million units, with a penetration rate of 18.18%. Therefore, fuel vehicles will decrease by 3.775 million units, and the automotive bearing market, especially fuel vehicle drive and transmission system bearings, will show a downward trend.
According to the "14th Five Year Plan" of the China Automobile Association, it is expected that the production of automobiles will reach 30 million units in 2025, and the production of new energy vehicles will reach 6 million units. Currently, it is even possible to reach 10 million units. In the future, the increment will be new energy vehicles, and fuel vehicles are gradually declining. The number of fuel vehicle bearings will also decrease year by year, resulting in a downward trend in vehicle bearing revenue.
In the context of the national realization of the "dual carbon" goal and the construction of a new dual cycle development pattern, electrification will also become one of the important directions for the green development of construction machinery and agricultural machinery. Some experts predict that the electrification rate of construction machinery will reach 25% by 2025.
The automobile industry, construction machinery and agricultural machinery are the main markets for supporting bearings. With the rapid development of electrification rate and the change of drive and transmission systems, the consumption of bearings will decrease accordingly, which will have a significant impact on the bearing industry.
However, as China gradually realizes the "dual carbon" goal and shifts towards high-quality development, wind turbines, industrial robots, urban rail transit, industrial intelligence, and urban intelligence will drive the development of some new bearing markets.
Leading enterprises achieved a good start in the first quarter
Several leading enterprises in the bearing industry have recently announced their annual report results and sales volume for the first year, presenting a good situation.
The constant speed drive shaft factory under Wanxiang Qianchao's banner recorded a 30.2% year-on-year growth in revenue in 2021 compared to 2020, and a more than double year-on-year growth in total profit. In January of this year, we achieved good results again, with a year-on-year increase of 13.20% in revenue and a year-on-year increase of 43.02% in total profit compared to 2021.
In 2022, the company stated that it would continue to strive for more international high-end projects and implement a medium - and long-term development strategy in the market. We should continue to unleash internal potential in the management of human, financial, and material resources, boldly employ young people, expand employee development channels, cultivate expert and composite talents, and implement a talent reserve development strategy; Continue to practice internal skills diligently, make good use of all resources, eliminate the phenomenon of exclusive supply and supporting cooperation, reduce procurement costs, replace imports with domestic products, and replace imports with self-made products, improving efficiency and efficiency; Continue to establish benchmarks, build lighthouse factories, and strive to enter the top three globally.
Since the first quarter of this year, Luoyang LYC Bearing Co., Ltd. has been focusing on epidemic prevention and control while resuming work and production. With multiple "hard core" measures, it has turned danger into opportunity and achieved double-digit year-on-year growth in production and sales. Among them, in March, the output increased by 50% year-on-year, achieving a good start in production and operation in the first quarter.
Since the beginning of this year, Waxi Group has achieved outstanding market development results, with multiple product lines such as wind power, railways, and metallurgy experiencing strong production and sales, laying a solid foundation for the significant growth of major indicators throughout the year. Railway bearings are a traditional advantageous product of Waxi Group. Through continuous strengthening of intelligent transformation of production lines, product quality and production efficiency have been significantly improved, and market share has been continuously expanded. In January, the company's railway bearing products have successively received batch orders from key domestic customers, and two digital production lines have maintained a full load production state.
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