Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/732903
EquipmentWorld.com | October 2016 23 Lunch: stolen Let's resolve this first: there are ap- plications where skid steer loaders (SSLs) will remain dominant, such as jobs with speed requirements. Working on hard surfaces, including asphalt and concrete, is tough on both tires or tracks, but replacing tires costs less than replacing tracks. In this area, skid steers win the cost debate. Demolition sites and others with abundant debris are best left to skid steers, especially those with solid tire modifications. For almost everything else, CTLs continue to gain market share from SSLs. Combined annual sales of SSLs and CTLs remains around 65,000 to 70,000 units, but the mix is chang- ing. For example, Compact Exca- vator Sales, the U.S. distributor of IHI machines, has offered small loaders for four years. According to Kendall Aldridge, Compact presi- dent, the split of the company's SSL to CTL sales volume by units has moved from 70/30 to 40/60 in that time period. Other OEMs report similar shifts. Complex cost considerations There's a $10,000-to-$20,000 price jump when moving from a skid steer to a compact track loader of comparable power and perfor- mance. Although the higher front- end hit has stifled migration to CTLs in the past, customers are weighing other factors into their purchasing decisions and the movement from skid steers to compact track loaders has accelerated. Brent Coffey of Wacker Neuson points out that this difference is prorated over the ownership period. "If a customer plans on keeping the CTL for four or five years, that's only $2,000 to $5,000 additional profit per year to hit break-even, which is well within the increased production a CTL can provide." Higher residual values reduce that required addi- tional profit even further. Compact track loaders can work in soft underfoot condi- tions that would stop a skid steer cold. There is no magic number of missed days that creates a break-even for the CTL, says Jorge DeHoyos, senior product manager at Kubota. "You can't simply say, 'I'm missing X days per week or month' or whatever." At some point, compact track loaders (CTLs) will quit taking market share from skid steer loaders. But for now, the relentless march of CTLs contin- ues, driven by the narrowing of the cost differential between the two ma- chine types, CTLs' enhanced suitability to common applications, and the expansion of models in a variety of sizes. With a 2,300-pound ROC (at 50 percent of tipping load), the Cat 249D is at the smaller end of bigger compact track loaders. Performance is optimized with a high performance power train featur- ing an Electronic Torque Manage- ment system and an electronic hand/foot throttle with decel pedal capability. A high-flow hydraulic system is available for applications that demand maximum hydraulic work tool performance.