$8.4 Billion Chinese Pump Market by 2015

China will account for 21 percent of the $40 billion 2015 world market for industrial pumps. This is the latest forecast in the McIlvaine continually updated Pumps: World Markets Report.

Wastewater will be the largest industry segment followed by power.

China is completing a five year plan which is adding 15,000 MGD of municipal sewage treatment. This is a staggering figure when one reflects that the U.S., which has been adding capacity for 200 years, only handles 39,000 MGD. On the other hand, sewage treatment per capita is only 20 percent of that in the U.S., so China still has a long way to go.

Also, China now has twice the big power plant scrubbers as does the U.S. These scrubbers each need up to 400,000 gpm of abrasive slurry. China is building more new coal plants than the U.S. or all of Europe combined. Therefore they are the leading purchaser of these scrubber pumps.

China is a relatively small player in domestic oil and gas production. On the other hand, their purchases are boosting the production around the world. Their ventures in mining are also having a positive effect on pump purchases in Africa and Australia. Within China there are significant pump requirements for the coal-to-liquids plants which are underway.

China has major reserves of gas trapped in shale. This gas can be extracted only by fracturing it with large quantities of water. This application is one of the biggest markets for pumps presently in the U.S. Since China has the second largest gas shale reserves, this could provide a longer term boost for the Chinese pump market.

There are a number of high performing Chinese pump companies. Nevertheless, many of the more specialized pumps are purchased from international suppliers.