Japan Construction Equipment Rental Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029

MARKET INSIGHTS

The Japan construction equipment rental market is expected to reach USD 7.98 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.10% during the forecast period. The country announced a USD 708 billion economic stimulus package targeting investments in new growth areas such as green and digital innovation. The investment is also directed toward clean energy generation. Several renewable energy projects are under progress in the Kanto and Chubu region of the country. Rising renewable energy investment is expected to drive demand for renting material handling equipment in the Japanese construction equipment rental market.

In 2022, the Japanese government invested in developing railways, airports & expressways for the upcoming Expo event scheduled in 2025. Nearly 28 million visitors are expected to attend Expo; therefore, the government is investing in railways line extension projects across the country in 2023. A surge in government investment under the National Resilience Plan, which includes the maintenance of aging infrastructures and the development of expressways, is expected to drive demand for the Japan construction equipment rental market. The rental of construction equipment provides the benefit of avoiding the high capital cost, costly maintenance of construction equipment & availability of new technology-equipped construction equipment.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The earthmoving segment accounted for 57.6% of the Japan construction equipment rental market share. Excavators accounted for the largest industry share of 74.2% of earthmoving equipment. Rising investment in the maintenance of aging infrastructures, development of expressways, & other disaster management projects in 2022 is expected to drive the demand for renting excavators.
• In 2021, the Japanese government planned to invest USD 708 billion in economic recovery. The investment is directed toward the development of public infrastructure & digital technology. Investments are also planned for Expo 2025 in the Osaka region of the country. The government investment in renewable energy projects to reduce carbon emissions by 46% by 2030.
• Growth in the logistics industry due to the growing demand for goods in the global and domestic markets supports the demand for used forklifts & telehandlers in the Japan construction equipment rental market. The country's export witnessed a sharp rise of 21.5% in 2021. Using robotics & automation in the manufacturing industry temporarily solves the labor shortage issue. The industry will witness a 2.4% growth in output in 2022.
• The demand for new-generation excavators with ICT and remote monitoring technology is gaining market share in Japan. Skilled labor shortage & rising accident cases at construction sites prompt the use of automated rental construction equipment in Japan.
• The demand for hydraulic excavators with ICT technology witnessed growth in the Japan construction equipment rental market in 2022. However, the equipment rental market is facing challenges of rising raw material & logistics costs. These factors are expected to increase renting prices in the industry in 2023.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Digitalization of the Construction Equipment Rental Market

Japan is facing the challenge of a shortage of young workers due to the aging population. There is growing demand for digitalization in various industries to improve efficiency, including the Japan construction equipment rental market. The country’s leading rental company, Nikken corporation, is promoting digitalization in its operation, such as ordering online rental products, EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) for the invoice, parts ordering, & inspection of returned products. The rental companies in the market witnessed a surge in the number of registered users of the online rental system in 2022.

Aging Infrastructure & Expo 2025 Prompts Infrastructure Investment
The government has started investing in infrastructure renovation across the country. Investments are also directed toward disaster prevention & mitigation, national resilience, & other public work. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism Japan, nearly 63% of roads & bridges, 62% of flood barriers & other river facilities, & nearly more than 40% of tunnels will be more than 50 years old by 2033. Therefore, the Japanese government focuses on the repair & maintenance of aging infrastructure.

The government also planned to develop new buildings and infrastructure in the Tokyo,  Kansai, and Kinki regions in Western Japan. A USD 490 million fund is allocated for the Tokyo Municipal Project plan for the Shinjuku station in 2022. These renovation projects are expected to improve passengers' navigation and get completed by 2047. The construction projects are underway in 2023 for the upcoming international event Expo 2025. The Expo 2025 is one event that will stimulate the Japanese economy after the Tokyo Olympics. The government is spending over USD 1.4 billion on construction projects for Expo 2025.

National Resilience to Prevent and Mitigate Natural Disasters
The Japanese government is investing USD 113.8 billion to accelerate emergency measures for a national resilience plan to prevent & mitigate the impact of natural disasters. The government's five-year plan was started in 2021 with a fund allocation of USD 9.1 billion. There are 123 disaster reduction projects which aim to tackle severe storms, flood damage, & large earthquakes.

Under National policy, flood disaster prevention measures will be built to manage river basins & reinforce structures such as embankments & proceed with river channel excavation. This project also aims to control landsides & embankment measures. This policy also focuses on promoting digital transformation in the implementation of ICT in port & harbor construction by 2025. In 2022, the government also accelerated the projects to expand expressways to four lanes. These projects will also eliminate 30% of the missing link of expressways from 2021 to 2025 to connect all 200 roads by 2041.

INDUSTRY RESTRAINTS

Skilled Labour Shortage Hampers Construction Equipment Rental Market
Japanese government faces a major challenge of skilled labor shortage. According to the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors, the number of competent construction workers in Japan is predicted to fall by 1.28 million by 2025, owing to the aging population. ~35% of labor in the construction industry is older than 55 years in Japan, resulting in low productivity. The country has strict immigration norms which restrict the migration of foreign laborers. The government has identified 14 sectors where there will be a shortage of labor in the future, such as construction manufacturing, agriculture, and shipbuilding are some major ones. A severe labor shortage is also witnessed in the country’s manufacturing industry. However, in 2019, Japan introduced 49,900 industrial robots to overcome the labor shortage issue.

A Surge in Rental Prices Impacts Its Demand in the Japanese Market
In 2023, leading companies in the Japan construction equipment rental market, such as Kanamoto, Nishio Rent All, Aktio & Nikken, started to increase rental fees for construction equipment. Construction equipment rental is facing challenges of supply chain issues & rise in logistics costs in 2023. The rental companies are investing in adding advanced technology construction equipment in their fleet & incorporating digital technology for better service of their customers. These factors prompted the Japanese market's surge in construction equipment rental prices. In addition, Komatsu increased its construction equipment prices by ~10% from Jan 2022. The company decided to increase prices due to the rise in steel & logistics prices. The price of steel increased by more than 32% in the Japanese market in 2022.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

• Prominent vendors in the Japan construction equipment rental market are Caterpillar, Volvo Construction Equipment, Liebherr, Komatsu, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Hyundai Construction Machinery, Kobelco, Kubota & Sumitomo.
• Other prominent vendors in the Japan construction equipment rental market are Toyota Material Handling, Yanmar, Takeuchi, Airman, SAKAI, & Tadano.
• Caterpillar, Volvo Construction Equipment, Kubota, Hitachi Construction Machinery & Komatsu are leaders in the Japan construction equipment rental market. These players have a strong market share and offer diverse products.
• Takeuchi, SAKAI, Airman, & Toyota Material Handling are niche players in the Japan construction equipment rental market and offer limited products to cater to customers who require majorly earthmoving equipment.
• In 2021, Kobelco introduced ICT-enabled construction machinery with a navigation system to cater to the region's need for high construction and mining projects.