The global tunnel boring machine market is a highly fragmented market, with a presence of higher number of market players. The tunnel boring machine market has a huge opportunity to improve in the coming years. The manufacturers/service providers are operating at regional level. The players are adopting strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, product development, partnerships, joint ventures, and expansion to improve their position in the market both regionally and globally. High competition, rapid technological changes, and integrated solutions by industry participants are the key factors that impact market the growth. Vendors compete in terms of cost, product quality, size of tunnel boring machines, and reliability. It is vital for these players to offer cost-effective and superior products and services to succeed in the competitive market environment.
The growth of market vendors depends on the market conditions, government support, and industry development. Thus, they should focus on improving their products, expanding their regional presence, and variety of tunnel bore sizes to suite the requirement of the project. China Railway Group Limited (CRGL), IHI Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Bosch Rexroth AG are some of the leading players, holding more than half of market share.
CRGL: China Railway Group Limited has diversified development strategy that have proven to be goal achieving for the company. Their broad product portfolio serving manufacturing, survey & design, real estate development, consulting, highway operation, metro projects, mining, and among others. The company has been taking initiatives and is further willing to add industry leaders in their team to further enjoy the major portion of market share.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd has occupied the third position in the global tunnel boring machines market. The company’s industry experience and its persistence in developing and enhancing its portfolio to offer advanced capabilities to the solution offers a competitive position in the market. Kawasaki also focuses on strategic collaborations and acquisitions with technology companies in the industry, which help the company to expand its reach and increase its production capabilities, thereby helping obtain a strong position in the market. The company also maintains a healthy relationship with its channel partners which helps them to broaden its market reach. Also, a robust geographic reach and market presence helps the company maintain its market position.
IHI Corp. has currently occupied the fourth position in the global tunnel boring machines market. The company is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of heavy machines across the globe. To strengthen its market, position the company emphasizes on broadenings its offerings via organic as well as inorganic approach. IHI focuses on strengthening its channel partners’ capabilities to increase its geographical reach and market presence. The company also aims at forming strategic mergers and collaborations to obtain a competitive advantage in the market. Wide geographic reach, strong distribution capabilities, and relationship with its clients help the company strengthen its position in the global tunnel boring machines market.
Hitachi Zosen Corporation ranks at fourth position and gives a tough competition to other operating companies in the global tunnel boring machine market. The continuous investments in expanding businesses across geographies has resulted into increased customer base. Also, the strong goodwill of the company has helped it to contribute significantly to the tunnel boring machine market.
Bosch Rexroth hold the fifth position in the global tunnel boring machine market. The company has gained this strong position because of strong research & development capabilities of the firm. Adding to it, the company possess its share is almost each part of the world, making it very competitive in the global market.
Other players include Dalian Huarui Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd, Herrenknecht AG, Komatsu Ltd, and Northern Heavy Industries Group Co., Ltd (The Robbins Company, Inc.). The leading players, as mentioned above, are dominating the market due to their enhanced product portfolios, vast industry experience, and wide geographic reach. These players may strengthen their presence in the global market through expansion by acquiring leading technological innovators during the forecast period. Players with access to better technologies can develop unique and innovative products and services, which could render the competitor’s offerings, obsolete. The competitive environment in the market is likely to intensify further due to the increasing number of expansions
Michael Porter’s Five Forces model is a framework to study the global tunnel boring machines market. Strategic business managers, trying to gain an edge over competitive firms in the global tunnel boring machines market, can utilize this model to better comprehend the industry in which the company operates. The components of each of the forces and the degree of impact of each component in the context of the global tunnel boring machines market have been broken down and analyzed. Threat of New Entrants
The threat of new entrants signifies the impact of new players trying to enter the market. The development of tunnel boring machines involves high technical expertise, along with the high capital requirements, which increases the barriers for the new entrants in the market. The end users rely on large tunnel boring machines manufacturing companies with strong brand recognition, which makes it difficult for the new players to compete with the established players, such as China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd, Dalian Huarui Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd, and Herrenknecht AG, Komatsu Ltd, who dominate the industry and maintain a substantial market share. However, there are a moderate number of market players available for tunnel boring machines, which has opened-up paths for new entrants. Moreover, the new entrants will require strong strategic partnerships with tech giants to offer the best-in-class tunnel boring machines. Thus, the threat of new entrants in the global tunnel boring machines market is expected to be moderate. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The suppliers are the providers of components, such as cutter head, cutting discs/tools, muck buckets, bracing system, ground support equipment, and steeling system. The concentration of suppliers is moderate, which leads to the moderate bargaining power of suppliers. However, the high cost of switching between suppliers due to the long-term contracts between them and the tunnel boring machines manufacturers increases the bargaining power of suppliers. Hence, the bargaining power of suppliers is expected to be moderate. Bargaining Power of Buyers
The market for tunnel boring machines has a high concentration of buyers from industries, such as construction, mining, and tunneling, which decreases their bargaining power. However, the buyers rely only on the successful and established companies for purchasing tunnel boring machines. Thus, brand recognition has a high impact on the buying decision of the buyers, which further reduces their bargaining power. The switching cost incurred by these buyers will be moderate due to the presence of various OEMs and the contracts between them and the buyers. Therefore, the bargaining power of buyers in the North America tunnel boring machines market is expected to be low Threat of Substitutes
Although the tunnel boring machines do not have any direct substitute, however conventional draft and blasting systems are used as their alternative for different application in developing and underdeveloped regions. Thus, the threat of substitutes is expected to be moderate in the global tunnel boring machines market. Rivalry
Currently, there is a low to moderate competition among the existing players in the tunnel boring machines market owing to the presence of a smaller number of market players. The manufacturers focus more on new technologies in cutter design, machine components, and hydraulic and electrical systems. The increased use of computer and electronic controls have resulted in the high demand for the tunnel boring machines.
There are many known market players, such as China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd, Dalian Huarui Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd, and Herrenknecht AG, Komatsu Ltd, who have ventured into the industry through partnerships and collaborations. These companies involved in the development of these systems differentiate their products by integrating additional or unique features in the tunnel boring machines. Thus, the intensity of competitive rivalry is expected to be high during the forecast period.
