Members of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association, active in the mobile crane industry, have filed a complaint to the European Commission concerning the influx of mobile cranes from China into the European Union.
They have requested an urgent investigation into imports of Chinese mobile cranes marketed in the EU at conditions that result in manifestly unfair competition for European producers.
Companies involved in the complaint, who together represent approximately 99% of the EU industry, comprise:
- Liebherr, a global market leader for mobile cranes, with headquarters in Ehingen (Germany) and Nenzing (Austria).
“Our European industry welcomes fair competition, but it is patently unfair to compete with products whose selling conditions do not come close to covering the raw materials, energy and production costs of a European mobile crane manufacturer,” says Christoph Kleiner, managing director sales, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen. “Chinese manufacturers benefit from a wide range of subsidy mechanisms, which gives them a massively unfair advantage when exporting to the EU.” - Manitowoc, one of the world’s leading providers of engineered lifting solutions, which has its European headquarters in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
“We believe in fair competition and have urged the European Commission to address the material injury to European industry caused by the dumping tactics of Chinese exporting producers, says Aaron Ravenscroft, president & CEO, The Manitowoc Company. “We call on the Commission to restore a level playing field across the EU.” - Sennebogen, a market leader in many sectors of the crane industry with a particular focus on the manufacturing of crawler cranes, with headquarters in Straubing (Germany).
“Chinese mobile crane producers are increasingly focusing on export markets, with the EU market being a prime target,” says Erich Sennebogen, shareholder and managing director, Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik. “The combination of spare production capacities in China, existing stocks and substantial Chinese governmental support, means that material injury to the vulnerable European industry will continue if anti-dumping measures are not imposed. These measures need to be taken to ensure fair global competition.” - And Tadano, a global leader in lifting and access equipment, with German manufacturing facilities located in Zweibrücken and Lauf an der Pegnitz. The company is active in the development and manufacturing of all-terrain cranes, city cranes and crawler cranes.
“While we believe in fair competition, the distortive pricing tactics of exporting producers from China warrant the opening of a trade defence investigation,” says Noriaki Yashiro, CEO, Tadano Europe Holdings. “We call on the European Commission to take swift and decisive action to ensure a fair and competitive environment for future production and employment in Europe’s mobile crane manufacturing sector.”
The current trade complaint focuses on mobile cranes designed for the lifting and moving of materials on land, with a lifting capacity of at least 30 tonnes, mounted on self-propelled vehicles. Such mobile cranes are key to ensuring Europe’s strategic independence, particularly in relation to critical infrastructure, defence and energy.
High performance mobile cranes play an essential role in constructing new power lines and transformer stations for the renewable energy sector. Mobile cranes are also vital for the construction and maintenance of efficient road, rail and bridge networks. This in turn is necessary to enable supply chains and rapid deployment of emergency services. Furthermore, mobile cranes are crucial to military operations and provide protection for military personnel during deployment.
European manufacturers not only meet EU and global environmental and data protection standards, but they have invested to improve substantially the safety and performance of mobile cranes while providing quality and value for their customers. The unfair trade complaint emphasises the need for Europe to preserve the viability of this strategically vital European industry and avoid future dependence on non-EU suppliers.
