Dongfang Securities: Leaders continue to increase investment in smart logistics, optimistic about the acceleration of industrialization of unmanned forklifts

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Dongfang Securities has released a research report stating that benefiting from the rapid development of embodied intelligence, global e-commerce logistics giants and domestic forklift companies have recently further promoted their layout in the intelligent logistics field, marking an acceleration in the progress of the intelligent logistics industry. The current forklift industry may be at the starting point of a new narrative of comprehensive intelligence, and the industrialization process of unmanned forklifts is expected to accelerate further. It is recommended to pay attention to leading companies in the forklift equipment main business that are stable and beginning to accelerate their layout in embodied intelligence, smart logistics, unmanned forklifts, and intelligent logistics robots: AHHL (600761.SH), HANGCHA GROUP (603298.SH), Zhongli Co., Ltd. (603194.SH), NOBLELIFT (603611.SH). The main points of Dongfang Securities are as follows: Amazon has developed a new robot and has deployed over one million units internally, capable of assisting with 75% of global delivery operations According to reports, Amazon has recently developed a new robot named Vulcan, designed to pick items from bulk and place them on movable shelves to complete automated restocking tasks. What makes Vulcan unique is that it is equipped with force feedback sensors and AI, giving it a sense of touch. This "sense of touch" allows Vulcan to manipulate objects more precisely and skillfully. According to Amazon, Vulcan can pick and store about 75% of the items in Amazon's warehouses, moving them at speeds comparable to human workers. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon has deployed over one million robots in its work facilities, a number that is approaching the number of human employees in its facilities. HANGCHA GROUP has reached a strategic cooperation with JD Industrial in Thailand, and HANGCHA American Intelligent Logistics Co., Ltd. has changed its investment entity to actively expand the intelligent logistics market in Southeast Asia and North America On July 3rd, Zhejiang HANGCHA Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and HANGCHA (Thailand) Company, both under HANGCHA GROUP, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with JD Group's independent subsidiary JD Industrial in Thailand to jointly promote local supply chain construction in Thailand. Both parties agreed that JD Industrial would officially become HANGCHA Intelligent's "chief partner" in Thailand, with HANGCHA (Thailand) Company simultaneously joining JD Industrial. JD Industrial will deeply cooperate with HANGCHA on smart logistics solutions based on local e-commerce and supply chain services to jointly promote local supply chain construction in Thailand. On the same day, the company announced that in order to further accelerate the operational process of HANGCHA American Intelligent Logistics Co., Ltd. and more efficiently promote the layout of the North American intelligent warehousing logistics market, it plans to adjust the investment entity of this subsidiary to HANGCHA American Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, in line with the company's globalization strategy and actual business needs. This change aims to leverage the localized operational foundation, customer resources, and service network that HANGCHA American Co., Ltd. has established in the U.S. market to enhance the efficiency of subsequent operations, respond more accurately and quickly to North American market demands, strengthen business synergy effects, and accelerate the achievement of the expansion goals of intelligent warehousing logistics business in the North American market. Industry giants continue to intensify efforts to promote intelligent logistics, and development is expected to further accelerate industrialization From the perspective of robot implementation, the logistics industry has the following important characteristics: 1) The workload inside and outside factories is enormous, and the future market space is vast; 2) Tasks such as handling and picking are relatively simple, with fewer action patterns and interaction modes, and the complexity is lower than that of the consumer sector; 3) The replicability of action content is strong, as the action specifications are similar across various industries and enterprises, making it easier to achieve transfer and generalization; 4) Currently, the logistics industry's reliance on manual labor for tasks like handling and picking is significant, and logistics robots can replace human labor and liberate the workforce in primary tasks. Against this background and industry characteristics, the logistics industry urgently needs the empowerment of embodied intelligence, making it likely to become the first scene for the application and implementation of embodied intelligent robots, with the carrier for application and implementation being unmanned forklifts. Recently, the progress of the smart logistics industry has accelerated, with leading companies intensifying their layouts, and the industrialization process of unmanned forklifts is expected to further accelerate. Risk Warning The development of forklift intelligence may fall short of expectations, macroeconomic growth may be lower than expected, the rate of electrification may not increase as anticipated, and there may be fluctuations in international trade policies and exchange rates