Overview of the current situation of rotary drilling rig industry: policy protection, domestic leading

        In the wave of accelerated infrastructure construction and energy development, rotary drilling rigs, as the core equipment in the field of pile foundation construction, are ushering in a golden period of high-quality development. With the continuous support of policies and technological breakthroughs of domestic enterprises, the Chinese rotary drilling rig industry has formed a development pattern of "steady growth in demand, accelerated technological iteration, and domestic market dominance", becoming a model of independent innovation in the field of construction machinery.

        Policy support builds the cornerstone of industry development and provides a stable growth engine for market demand. The strategic deployment of building a strong transportation country, promoting new urbanization, and ensuring energy security in the national 14th Five Year Plan has directly activated the application scenarios of rotary drilling rigs. In 2024, the national infrastructure investment increased by 6.8% year-on-year, reaching 19.8 trillion yuan. The concentrated construction of major projects such as high-speed railways, cross sea bridges, and urban rail transit continues to release the rigid demand for high-performance rotary drilling rigs. At the same time, the acceleration of new energy infrastructure has injected new momentum into the industry, and the demand for small and medium-sized rotary drilling rigs in green energy projects such as wind power and photovoltaic power plants has significantly increased. The policy dividend also extends to the field of equipment renewal. Currently, the proportion of rotary drilling rigs that have been in service for more than 8 years in China has exceeded 40%. The implementation of the policy of phasing out and replacing old equipment has further expanded the market space. Looking ahead to 2025, the investment scale within the central budget is expected to exceed 700 billion yuan, and the proportion of special bonds invested in the transportation and water conservancy field is not less than 60%. The continuity of policies will continue to safeguard the development of the industry.

        Domestic enterprises have fully achieved market leadership and formed multidimensional competitive advantages. In terms of market share, the dominant position of domestic leading enterprises has become increasingly stable, with top companies such as Sany Heavy Industry, XCMG Machinery, and Zoomlion occupying over 80% of the domestic market share. Among them, Sany Heavy Industry ranks first with a market share of 36%, followed closely by XCMG Machinery and Zoomlion with shares of 27% and 18%, respectively. The overall market share of domestic brands has remained above 85% for five consecutive years, while the market share of imported brands has continued to shrink to less than 10% due to high prices and delayed service response. This leading position stems from the continuous breakthroughs of domestic enterprises in technological innovation. By 2024, the penetration rate of intelligent rotary drilling rigs equipped with remote monitoring, automatic correction, and energy optimization modules has exceeded 45%. Models such as Sany Heavy Industry SR415R-II and XCMG XR550D, with their high efficiency, have been widely applied in key projects such as the Sichuan Tibet Railway and offshore wind power. 

        The electrification transformation is also at the forefront. In the pilot operation of electric motor models such as Shanhe Intelligent SWDM24E, the annual operating cost of a single unit has been reduced by 35% compared to fuel powered models. It is expected that the penetration rate of electric motor models will increase to 8% by 2025. The industry has shown strong resilience in structural upgrading and diversified development characteristics. From the perspective of product structure, medium and large rotary drilling rigs (with drilling mast height ≥ 24 meters or torque ≥ 300kN · m) have become mainstream, accounting for 63.5% of sales in 2024, an increase of 15.5 percentage points from 2020, reflecting the growing demand for deep foundation construction under complex geological conditions. The regional market presents a differentiated development trend, with the East and North China regions accounting for nearly 60% of the country's total sales. Provinces such as Jiangsu and Shandong have become high ground for equipment ownership due to strong demand for municipal renovation and high-speed rail construction, while the Southwest region, with intensive construction of mountain bridge projects, has an average annual demand growth rate of over 12%. The international layout has become a new growth pole. In 2024, the export sales of domestic rotary drilling rigs will reach 850 sets, with a year-on-year growth of 18.1%. In the "the Belt and Road" projects such as Indonesia's Yavan High speed Railway and Saudi New Town, equipment made in China will become the main construction force. Sany, XCMG and other enterprises will set up localization service centers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other places to accelerate the process of globalization.

        Currently, the Chinese rotary drilling rig industry is in a critical stage of transitioning from scale expansion to high-quality development. Despite facing challenges such as fluctuations in raw material prices and intensified competition in the leasing market, the industry has formed a new driving force for development with innovation at its core, driven by multiple factors such as policy guidance, technological upgrades, and market demand. In the future, with the deep application of intelligent and green technologies and the continuous deepening of international layout, the domestic rotary drilling rig industry is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of over 9%, and write a more significant "Chinese answer sheet" in the global pile machinery field.