China Condensing Unit Market Development in 2020

BSRIA and the Chinese Association of Refrigeration jointly released the "2020 China Refrigeration Industry Development Report" at the Shanghai Refrigeration Exhibition on April 8, 2021. The report analyses development and changes in the condensing unit (CDU) market in 2020 and summarizes current challenges faced by the industry.

China's cold chain logistics industry presents fast growth. Condensing units, as the core part of the refrigeration system, maintains steady growth. The market for condensing units is very fragmented with much variation in the quality of products. Moreover, there are differences in the development of different types of condensing units.

After the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the expansion of supermarkets and convenience stores slowed, leading to a fall in the demand for scroll CDUs. The reciprocating CDU market rose slightly in 2020. The reciprocating CDUs can be applied under various working conditions, performing especially well in low-temperature environments. What is more, reciprocating CDUs are cost-effective, resulting in meaningful market share in cold storage and supermarket applications. The screw CDU market continued to maintain a rapid growth in 2020, driven by the construction of many agricultural and cold-chain logistics bases.

Overall, risks and opportunities go hand-in-hand for the CDU market after the pandemic. The CDU industry lacks unified standards and supervision, and the availability of low-priced units is not conducive to the long-term healthy development of the industry. The management level of safe use needs to be improved. With the construction and development of China's cold chain logistics industry, the government has invested more and as a result the CDU market has achieved faster development than in the previous year.