P U B L I C I D A D E

ABRIR
FECHAR

P U B L I C I D A D E

ABRIR
FECHAR
Voltar

Heavy trucks in the area

There is a promising scenario for off-road trucks in Brazil. According to the Sobratema Study of Equipment Market, 280 vehicles of this category were sold in 2013. This figure is 12 percent above the 250 units sold in 2012, what puts this type of equipment in the average yearly growth of the Yellow Line (13 percent). For the manufacturers interviewed by M&T, this is still a timid performance, but their expectation is of a sustained increase during next years, mainly due to the potential of demand brought by infrastructure market.

Volvo CE, for example, points out that a significant increase in the demand for articulated trucks is already occurring. This situation may be caused by a change in the culture of mining and construction clients, mainly due to their higher visibility in infrastructure projects. According to Agnaldo Silva, commercial manager of Volvo Construction Equipment Latin America, the national consumer is guided by practical examples, and these trucks have a history of work in tough jobs with difficult access. “Many operations were carried out before using rigid-frame off-road trucks and even on-the-road trucks, concentrating the demand for articulated trucks in underground mining, where a lower turning radius is necessary due to the narrow existing space in the operation sites”, explains him. In Brazil, the company sells models with capacity up to 40 t.

Caterpillar –that also sees infrastructure works as essential drivers of this market–uses the examples of the hydroelectric plants of Belo Monte (PA) and Jirau (RO). “The first one is being a successful example of the use of off-road trucks in heavy construction works”, says Othon Diógenes, general mining manager of this manufacturer for Latin America.

In Brazil, Silva states that the highest demand is for models of 30 t and 40 t. The first one is demanded mainly for works of construction and underground mining. The other one is more used in large-scale mining and large infrastructure works.

For Diógenes, undoubtedly the off-road models are more convenient for mining, where they ensure a lower cost by produced ton and ensure a better return on the investment carried out. “Nevertheless, some mining companies still choose other types of trucks, such as on-the-road trucks,” says him.