文章注释
Like a motor-racing pit crew, six workers in matching baseball caps crouch over a mechanical digger, busily attaching a web of cables to its frame.
与赛车比赛时的后勤维修人员一样，带着相同款式棒球帽的六名工人蹲在一台挖掘机前，忙着把很多线缆连接到框架上。
It is one of a line of excavators in different stages of assembly moving down the conveyor belt at the factory of Hyundai Heavy Industries in the South Korean port city of Ulsan, each sporting a sheet of paper indicating its final destination. Six are bound for the Middle East, two for Latin America and one for Africa — reflecting Hyundai’s drive for sales in emerging markets globally.
这是位于韩国港口城市蔚山的现代重工(Hyundai Heavy Industries)工厂传送带上处于不同组装阶段的一列挖掘机之一，每台挖掘机都贴着一张纸，标明其最终目的地。六台运往中东，两台运往拉美，一台运往非洲，这反映出现代重工面向全球新兴市场销售的努力。
But as the diggers roll off the line, Rhee Sang-gi, Hyundai’s construction-equipment chief, worries that no amount of geographical expansion can compensate for what is happening in the Chinese market. “There is no other market that can replace China,” says Mr Rhee. “We thought this year would be better than last year, but it’s getting worse: the Chinese market is getting smaller and smaller.”
然而，在这些挖掘机驶下生产线之际，现代重工建筑设备主管Rhee Sang-gi担心，再多的地域扩张也无法弥补中国市场的损失。“没有一个市场可以取代中国，”他表示，“我们原本认为，今年情况将好于去年，但情况正变得更糟：中国市场正变得越来越小。”
A decade ago, Hyundai Heavy and South Korean peer Doosan Infracore dominated the Chinese market for excavators, the key product in the construction-equipment market, with a combined market share of 40 per cent. They achieved this by sharply undercutting the prices of Japanese and US competitors such as Komatsu and Caterpillar, and enjoyed surging profits as Chinese property development mushroomed.
10年前，现代重工及其韩国同行斗山(Doosan Infracore)主导着中国挖掘机（建筑设备市场的关键产品）市场，合计市场份额达40%。这两家公司成功的原因是它们的价格远远低于日本和美国竞争对手，如小松(Komatsu)和卡特彼勒(Caterpillar)。随着中国房地产开发项目不断增多，它们的利润出现飙升。
This put them among their country’s most conspicuous beneficiaries of China’s economic boom — a huge driver of growth for South Korea, which sent 25 per cent of its exports to China last year.
这让现代重工和斗山成为最明显的受益于中国经济热潮的韩国企业——中国经济热潮是韩国经济增长的巨大推动力，去年韩国有25%的出口流向中国。
But the Chinese dream has soured for South Korea’s makers of diggers. Last year Hyundai sold 3,743 excavators in China, down from its 2010 record of 18,467. Doosan’s sales fell from 22,093 to 6,905 over the same period. The crunch reflects a sharp slowdown in the Chinese construction market as developers respond to a glut of unsold properties.
但对于韩国挖掘机制造商而言，它们的中国梦已破灭。去年，现代在中国销售了3743台挖掘机，远低于2010年创下的1.8467万台的纪录。同期斗山在华销量从2.2093万台降至6905台。这一滑坡反映出，随着中国开发商对未售房地产积压做出回应，中国建筑市场急剧放缓。
New starts on residential and commercial buildings have been shrinking since last year, and fell 17 per cent in the first four months of this year from a year earlier, as measured by total floor space.
自去年以来，住宅和商业地产的新开工面积一直在收缩，今年头4个月同比下降17%。
Sales of related equipment have been falling since 2012 as construction companies lose confidence. Last year 84,573 excavators were sold in China, half the 2011 peak of 169,182.
自2012年以来，随着建筑企业失去信心，相关设备的销量不断下滑。去年，中国市场的挖掘机销量为8.4573万台，是2011年峰值16.9182万台的一半。
“It’s not just the Korean manufacturers. Every [manufacturer] has suffered in China,” says Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities.
元大证券(Yuanta Securities)分析师Lee Jae-won表示：“并非只有韩国制造商。每家（制造商）都在中国遭受痛苦。”
But the South Koreans have suffered more than most.
但韩国公司遭受的痛苦要超过大多数公司。
Their price-focused strategy left them exposed to a challenge from Chinese competitors who were able to charge customers even less. Chief among these is Sany Heavy Industry, which has boosted its market share from 6.6 per cent in 2009 to 17 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
韩国公司关注价格的战略让它们容易遭遇中国竞争对手的挑战，后者能向客户开出更低价格。三一重工(Sany Heavy Industry)就是一例，该公司的市场份额从2009年的6.6%升至今年第一季度的17%。
Meanwhile, a reputation for quality has allowed Japanese rivals Komatsu, Hitachi Construction Machinery and Kobe Steel to retain lucrative positions at the top end of the excavator market, along with Caterpillar, which has doubled its market share to 11 per cent over the past five years.
与此同时，高质量的美誉让日本竞争对手小松、日立建机(Hitachi Construction Machinery)和神户制钢(Kobe Steel)在高端挖掘机市场继续享有利润可观的地位，与卡特彼勒并肩。过去5年，卡特彼勒在华市场份额增加一倍，至11%。
In a parallel with Samsung Electronics’ smartphone business, squeezed in China between Apple at the top end of the market and Chinese rivals at the cheaper end, Hyundai and Doosan’s share of the Chinese excavator market has shrunk in the first quarter to 5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
就像三星电子(Samsung Electronics)智能手机业务在中国遭受苹果(Apple)和中国竞争对手在高端和中低端的夹击一样，今年第一季度，现代和斗山在中国挖掘机市场的份额分别缩小至5%和7%。
Even if the Korean digger makers win back share there is no indication that China is primed for a rebound: total excavator sales in the first quarter were down 49 per cent from a year before.
即便这些韩国挖掘机制造商夺回市场份额，也没有任何迹象表明，中国市场即将反弹：今年第一季度，挖掘机总销量同比减少49%。
Doosan has reduced its reliance on China through measures such as the $4.9bn acquisition of US manufacturer Bobcat in 2007. North America and Oceania accounted for 69 per cent of Doosan’s construction-equipment revenue in the first quarter of this year, against 11 per cent for China.
斗山采取措施减轻了对中国的依赖，例如2007年以49亿美元收购美国制造商山猫(Bobcat)。今年第一季度，北美和大洋洲占斗山建筑设备营收的69%，中国占11%。
Hyundai’s effort to diversify its markets has been complicated by world events: revenues from Russia have taken a hit from the recent collapse of the rouble, while previously healthy sales in Libya have been “completely blocked” since the overthrow of Muammer Gaddafi, says Mr Rhee.
Rhee Sang-gi表示，现代重工开发其他市场的努力因世界形势而变得复杂：来自俄罗斯的营收因近期卢布汇率暴跌而受到打击，而在利比亚，自穆阿迈尔?卡扎菲(Muammer Gaddafi)被推翻以来，之前在该国的可观销量“彻底受阻”。
With sales in China also continuing to slide, the division’s turnover fell 21 per cent in the first quarter of this year as Hyundai Heavy — which is also the world’s biggest shipbuilder — fell to an operating loss of Won192.5bn ($172m).
随着在华销量继续下滑，现代重工建筑设备业务今年第一季度营业额下降21%，同时集团整体出现1925亿韩元（合1.72亿美元）营运亏损。现代重工还是全球最大造船企业。
Meanwhile, Mr Rhee sees long-term potential in India, where Hyundai had a fifth of the excavator market last year.
与此同时，Rhee Sang-gi在印度看到了长期潜力，去年，现代在印度挖掘机市场占据20%的份额。
His division “can never stop trying to make the Chinese business healthy”, he says, but “we have to forget the heyday. We have to be very.
他表示，他所在的部门“永远不能停止重振在华业务的努力”，但是“我们必须忘记过去的辉煌。我们必须非常现实。”
韩国工程机械厂商中国梦碎
更新于2015年06月25日
来源于原版英语
Like a motor-racing pit crew, six workers in matching baseball caps crouch over a mechanical digger, busily attaching a web of cables to its frame.
与赛车比赛时的后勤维修人员一样，带着相同款式棒球帽的六名工人蹲在一台挖掘机前，忙着把很多线缆连接到框架上。
It is one of a line of excavators in different stages of assembly moving down the conveyor belt at the factory of Hyundai Heavy Industries in the South Korean port city of Ulsan, each sporting a sheet of paper indicating its final destination. Six are bound for the Middle East, two for Latin America and one for Africa — reflecting Hyundai’s drive for sales in emerging markets globally.
这是位于韩国港口城市蔚山的现代重工(Hyundai Heavy Industries)工厂传送带上处于不同组装阶段的一列挖掘机之一，每台挖掘机都贴着一张纸，标明其最终目的地。六台运往中东，两台运往拉美，一台运往非洲，这反映出现代重工面向全球新兴市场销售的努力。
But as the diggers roll off the line, Rhee Sang-gi, Hyundai’s construction-equipment chief, worries that no amount of geographical expansion can compensate for what is happening in the Chinese market. “There is no other market that can replace China,” says Mr Rhee. “We thought this year would be better than last year, but it’s getting worse: the Chinese market is getting smaller and smaller.”
然而，在这些挖掘机驶下生产线之际，现代重工建筑设备主管Rhee Sang-gi担心，再多的地域扩张也无法弥补中国市场的损失。“没有一个市场可以取代中国，”他表示，“我们原本认为，今年情况将好于去年，但情况正变得更糟：中国市场正变得越来越小。”
A decade ago, Hyundai Heavy and South Korean peer Doosan Infracore dominated the Chinese market for excavators, the key product in the construction-equipment market, with a combined market share of 40 per cent. They achieved this by sharply undercutting the prices of Japanese and US competitors such as Komatsu and Caterpillar, and enjoyed surging profits as Chinese property development mushroomed.
10年前，现代重工及其韩国同行斗山(Doosan Infracore)主导着中国挖掘机（建筑设备市场的关键产品）市场，合计市场份额达40%。这两家公司成功的原因是它们的价格远远低于日本和美国竞争对手，如小松(Komatsu)和卡特彼勒(Caterpillar)。随着中国房地产开发项目不断增多，它们的利润出现飙升。
This put them among their country’s most conspicuous beneficiaries of China’s economic boom — a huge driver of growth for South Korea, which sent 25 per cent of its exports to China last year.
这让现代重工和斗山成为最明显的受益于中国经济热潮的韩国企业——中国经济热潮是韩国经济增长的巨大推动力，去年韩国有25%的出口流向中国。
But the Chinese dream has soured for South Korea’s makers of diggers. Last year Hyundai sold 3,743 excavators in China, down from its 2010 record of 18,467. Doosan’s sales fell from 22,093 to 6,905 over the same period. The crunch reflects a sharp slowdown in the Chinese construction market as developers respond to a glut of unsold properties.
但对于韩国挖掘机制造商而言，它们的中国梦已破灭。去年，现代在中国销售了3743台挖掘机，远低于2010年创下的1.8467万台的纪录。同期斗山在华销量从2.2093万台降至6905台。这一滑坡反映出，随着中国开发商对未售房地产积压做出回应，中国建筑市场急剧放缓。
New starts on residential and commercial buildings have been shrinking since last year, and fell 17 per cent in the first four months of this year from a year earlier, as measured by total floor space.
自去年以来，住宅和商业地产的新开工面积一直在收缩，今年头4个月同比下降17%。
Sales of related equipment have been falling since 2012 as construction companies lose confidence. Last year 84,573 excavators were sold in China, half the 2011 peak of 169,182.
自2012年以来，随着建筑企业失去信心，相关设备的销量不断下滑。去年，中国市场的挖掘机销量为8.4573万台，是2011年峰值16.9182万台的一半。
“It’s not just the Korean manufacturers. Every [manufacturer] has suffered in China,” says Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities.
元大证券(Yuanta Securities)分析师Lee Jae-won表示：“并非只有韩国制造商。每家（制造商）都在中国遭受痛苦。”
But the South Koreans have suffered more than most.
但韩国公司遭受的痛苦要超过大多数公司。
Their price-focused strategy left them exposed to a challenge from Chinese competitors who were able to charge customers even less. Chief among these is Sany Heavy Industry, which has boosted its market share from 6.6 per cent in 2009 to 17 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
韩国公司关注价格的战略让它们容易遭遇中国竞争对手的挑战，后者能向客户开出更低价格。三一重工(Sany Heavy Industry)就是一例，该公司的市场份额从2009年的6.6%升至今年第一季度的17%。
Meanwhile, a reputation for quality has allowed Japanese rivals Komatsu, Hitachi Construction Machinery and Kobe Steel to retain lucrative positions at the top end of the excavator market, along with Caterpillar, which has doubled its market share to 11 per cent over the past five years.
与此同时，高质量的美誉让日本竞争对手小松、日立建机(Hitachi Construction Machinery)和神户制钢(Kobe Steel)在高端挖掘机市场继续享有利润可观的地位，与卡特彼勒并肩。过去5年，卡特彼勒在华市场份额增加一倍，至11%。
In a parallel with Samsung Electronics’ smartphone business, squeezed in China between Apple at the top end of the market and Chinese rivals at the cheaper end, Hyundai and Doosan’s share of the Chinese excavator market has shrunk in the first quarter to 5 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
就像三星电子(Samsung Electronics)智能手机业务在中国遭受苹果(Apple)和中国竞争对手在高端和中低端的夹击一样，今年第一季度，现代和斗山在中国挖掘机市场的份额分别缩小至5%和7%。
Even if the Korean digger makers win back share there is no indication that China is primed for a rebound: total excavator sales in the first quarter were down 49 per cent from a year before.
即便这些韩国挖掘机制造商夺回市场份额，也没有任何迹象表明，中国市场即将反弹：今年第一季度，挖掘机总销量同比减少49%。
Doosan has reduced its reliance on China through measures such as the $4.9bn acquisition of US manufacturer Bobcat in 2007. North America and Oceania accounted for 69 per cent of Doosan’s construction-equipment revenue in the first quarter of this year, against 11 per cent for China.
斗山采取措施减轻了对中国的依赖，例如2007年以49亿美元收购美国制造商山猫(Bobcat)。今年第一季度，北美和大洋洲占斗山建筑设备营收的69%，中国占11%。
Hyundai’s effort to diversify its markets has been complicated by world events: revenues from Russia have taken a hit from the recent collapse of the rouble, while previously healthy sales in Libya have been “completely blocked” since the overthrow of Muammer Gaddafi, says Mr Rhee.
Rhee Sang-gi表示，现代重工开发其他市场的努力因世界形势而变得复杂：来自俄罗斯的营收因近期卢布汇率暴跌而受到打击，而在利比亚，自穆阿迈尔?卡扎菲(Muammer Gaddafi)被推翻以来，之前在该国的可观销量“彻底受阻”。
With sales in China also continuing to slide, the division’s turnover fell 21 per cent in the first quarter of this year as Hyundai Heavy — which is also the world’s biggest shipbuilder — fell to an operating loss of Won192.5bn ($172m).
随着在华销量继续下滑，现代重工建筑设备业务今年第一季度营业额下降21%，同时集团整体出现1925亿韩元（合1.72亿美元）营运亏损。现代重工还是全球最大造船企业。
Meanwhile, Mr Rhee sees long-term potential in India, where Hyundai had a fifth of the excavator market last year.
与此同时，Rhee Sang-gi在印度看到了长期潜力，去年，现代在印度挖掘机市场占据20%的份额。
His division “can never stop trying to make the Chinese business healthy”, he says, but “we have to forget the heyday. We have to be very.
他表示，他所在的部门“永远不能停止重振在华业务的努力”，但是“我们必须忘记过去的辉煌。我们必须非常现实。”
推荐阅读