Lai See | CLSA unearths the truth about made-in-China excavators

CLSA appear to have taken the expression "kick the tyres" to a new level in one of its recent research reports. China is the biggest market in the world for construction machinery. However, the market share of international players in this market declined from a combined 90 per cent pre-2008 to 50 per cent in 2011. Nevertheless, made-in-China excavators were believed to be inferior to those made overseas.

So in an effort to uncover quality gaps between different brands of excavator made in China, CLSA put 13 excavators, across four weight types, through what it calls a "punishing machinery match-off." The exercise comprising six experienced operators, who put in 185 hours over a two week period at a test site in Jiangsu province, measured productivity, fuel economy and durability.

The test concludes that the market perception that Chinese excavators are inferior to those made overseas is incorrect. While Caterpillar came out on top, Chinese firm Sany offered "competitive models with superior performance and fuel efficiency to Korean and Japanese brands in the medium 20-24.9 tonne class." So if you need to buy an excavator you know who to speak to.

Our recent item on Arctic ice attracted some response, most of it, it has to be said, critical. However, we had one response from Professor Wyss Yim who sent us a piece on the climate impact of the October 2011 El Hierro submarine volcanic eruption. The piece appeared in Imperial Engineer, which is produced by Imperial College London. Yim is an earth scientist who, after a brief period at Imperial College, taught until his retirement at the University of Hong Kong.