In the first half of 2013, the construction machinery sector gradually stabilized amid a correction, market trends began to steady, and the entire industry entered a period of rational return. Recently, Qi Jun, Chairman of the China Construction Machinery Association, stated at a meeting that although the industry is stabilizing, dealers and manufacturers are still struggling through a "harsh winter." In 2012, China's construction machinery industry achieved sales revenue of 562.6 billion yuan, up 2.96% from 2011, but dealers and manufacturers did not feel the growth. The sales revenue of 13 manufacturer groups fell by more than 3% in 2012. According to relevant association data, from January to May 2013, combined sales of eight products—loaders, bulldozers, graders, construction cranes, industrial vehicles, road rollers, pavers, and excavators—fell 3.13% year on year. In May, loaders, bulldozers, road rollers, industrial vehicles, and excavators achieved slight positive year-on-year growth. This is true in the domestic market, and basically the same in the international market: overall conditions are improving, but growth is slow. A British consulting firm forecasts that the overseas construction machinery market in Western Europe and North America will also grow slowly through 2017, with maximum growth of 9%.
　　If in 2012 the major construction machinery enterprises and dealers were anxious and exhausted by the market, then in 2013 everyone has clearly gradually adapted to the current environment and begun to face everything with a mature mindset. Fluctuations are inevitable as the market moves forward, with peaks and troughs interwoven throughout. Construction machinery enterprises and dealers must maintain a calm mindset, firm confidence, and strategic vision to achieve stable, healthy, and sustainable development. Only in this way can they see the day when "the clouds part and the sun appears." Qi Jun said that not only construction machinery but also the real economy, including equipment manufacturing and garment manufacturing, is not seeing any obvious improvement in investment. Although in the long term, through 2017, investment in highway, airport, and railway construction will still exceed 4 trillion yuan.
　　On July 1, 2013, Beijing upgraded non-road construction machinery equipment from Stage II emission standards to Stage III standards. The implementation of the new emission standards will undoubtedly bring a series of challenges to the construction machinery industry. Meanwhile, new registration requirements for on-road construction machinery equipment require Euro IV emission standards, which will greatly affect equipment such as concrete pump trucks and cranes. For pump trucks to transition to Stage IV standards, 99% of chassis will need to be imported, at a cost exceeding 10 billion yuan. Qi Jun said that eight cities have now upgraded cranes from Euro III to Euro IV emission standards. From the perspective of energy conservation, emission reduction, and green environmental protection, emission standards are an inevitable issue in the industry's development, and the war of words triggered earlier this year by the auction of imported used machines was also largely a debate over industry norms and energy conservation and environmental protection. Whether in regions where standards have already been implemented or those where they have not yet been implemented, energy conservation and emission reduction must be incorporated into technological R&D, so as to fundamentally solve the problem of long-term enterprise development. For the compression-ignition internal combustion engines used in construction machinery, Stage III standards have already been issued, with trial operation on October 1, 2014, and mandatory enforcement on October 1, 2015. Under this overall framework, local regulations in various regions will be ahead of national regulations.
　　Starting in 2012, zero down payment and low down payment became a sore point for construction machinery dealers, and frenzied marketing also brought huge risks to dealers. Today, receivables collection has become the most vexing issue for dealers, and consequently their ability to withstand risks has repeatedly declined. In 2013, overcapacity has become widely recognized. Qi Jun said that from the industry perspective, every product has overcapacity, but from the enterprise perspective, there may not be overcapacity. For example, excavators have an annual capacity of 20,000 units; what is actually excessive is factory buildings, while equipment and personnel have not yet been fully invested.
　　In fact, since the start of transformation and upgrading, the construction machinery industry has been continuously adjusting over the past two years, and manufacturers will inevitably move toward restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. A senior analyst at China Construction Machinery Business Network said that we must have confidence in the industry and in the future; steady improvement in the construction machinery industry is an inevitable part of development. But on the premise of having confidence, one must keep one's accounts in order.