Broad capital spending cuts, and curtailed production have landed machinery companies in the pits but mining equipment makers will likely be among the first to emerge from under the recessionary rubble. The reason is that commodity prices are up substantially from their recent lows, at a time when the world is running out of all those precious natural resources.
Highly Coveted Resources
The main commodities driving original equipment and aftermarket parts demand include coal, copper, and iron ore. Developing nations are heavy users of natural resources including copper, coal and iron ore. The developing world is estimated to use roughly three to five times more commodities for every one percentage point of GDP growth than the developed countries.
Coal – Rush to Power
While coal production in the U.S. has slowed in part because of environmental concerns, such concerns haven't slowed developing nations coal rush to fuel industry and generate electricity.
According to BP
Statistical Review of World Energy released in June 2009, global coal consumption rose by a "below-average" 3.1% in 2008, yet coal remained the fastest-growing fuel in the world for a sixth consecutive year. China is the world's largest coal consumer with a 43% share in 2008.
The main driver of demand for coal (and natural gas) is the inexorable growth in energy needs for power generation. Coal remains the backbone fuel of the power gen sector. In its
World Energy Outlook published on Nov. 10, 2009, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects coal to see by far the biggest increase in demand globally over the projection period of 2007 to 2030. The IEA further expects coal's share of the global generation mix rising 3% to 44% by 2030. (
Fig. 1) China will account for the lion's share of power gen capacity growth.
The US EIA also projects world coal consumption increases by 49% from 2006 to 2030 (Fig. 2), and that China's coal consumption to grow at an average annual rate of 2.7% through the year 2030. Because China has limited reserves of oil and natural gas, coal remains the leading source of energy in its industrial sector. As China boasts 13% of the world's coal reserves, the country is expected to continue to meet a majority of domestic demand with coal-fired power through 2030.
Copper – Hard to Substitute
Right now, China
seemingly is the only buyer of size in the global copper market.
