Inside Liangshan: China's No.1 Used Truck Export Hub Ships 13,000 Trucks a Year
Liangshan: The Small Chinese County That Exports 13,000 Used Trucks a Year
In July 2026, a buyer from Rwanda flew into Liangshan County, Shandong Province, compared trucks at four dealers over three days, and signed for 10 used HOWO dump trucks worth over $300,000 — promising it was "only the first batch." His story is no longer unusual. It is the daily routine of China's largest used commercial vehicle export base.
For overseas fleet operators, mining contractors and construction companies, understanding what Liangshan has built explains why buying used trucks directly from China has become the smartest procurement move of 2026.
The Numbers Behind the Boom
- 13,000+ used commercial vehicles exported in 2025 — the highest volume of any county in China.
- Over 26,000 units exported cumulatively during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, reaching more than 110 countries.
- Jining Prefecture exported 11,000 used vehicles in the first half of 2026 alone — up 76.5% year-on-year.
- Over 10,000 overseas buyers visited Liangshan in 2025, with hundreds of foreign buyers now permanently stationed there.
Why a Landlocked County Became a Global Truck Hub
Liangshan sits on decades of accumulated industrial infrastructure: 143 certified special-purpose vehicle manufacturers and 386 parts factories, with a local parts supply rate above 70%. A used heavy truck that retired from a Chinese construction site can be inspected, reconditioned, tested and prepared for export without ever leaving the county.
The Huatong used vehicle market alone covers 1,500 mu (about 25 acres) and hosts nearly 4,000 merchants, trading more than 60,000 commercial vehicles per year. Since 2019, when Jining became one of China's first pilot cities for used vehicle export, the county has transformed from a domestic trading center into a true "buy nationwide, sell worldwide" hub.
Not Junk — Reconditioned to a Strict Standard
The trucks that leave Liangshan are not scrap. Vehicles entering the export channel must pass strict sourcing criteria:
- Under 300,000 km mileage within the first 3 years of service records;
- No major overhauls on core components — engine, gearbox, axles;
- Absolute rejection of flood-damaged or fire-damaged units;
- Full reconditioning: deep cleaning, maintenance, engine remanufacturing and condition-based upgrades such as chassis reinforcement, enlarged radiators and suspension adjustments for target markets — from Uzbekistan's cotton seasons to Nigeria's rainy-season roads and Zambia's copper mines.
Customs efficiency has kept pace too: dedicated export clearance desks process qualified vehicles in under 10 minutes per unit, and export licensing moved from "one license per vehicle" to "one license per batch," cutting overall lead times dramatically.
What This Means for Buyers in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia
A reconditioned Chinese heavy truck delivered to Africa typically costs one third of a new European truck — while local mechanics already know HOWO and Shacman platforms inside out, and spare parts are stocked across Lagos, Nairobi, Dubai and Almaty. Add China's domestic emission upgrades pushing newer, better-maintained trucks (including 2021+ models) into the export pool, and the value gap keeps widening.
Smart buyers are responding the way the Rwandan buyer did: they fly in, inspect, negotiate and ship. Those who cannot travel rely on export partners that provide video inspection, third-party pre-shipment inspection (SGS/BV), and full documentation support.
At TianCheng Truck, headquartered in the heart of this industrial cluster, we deliver reconditioned dump trucks, tractor heads, mixers and tankers to 100+ countries with factory-direct pricing and complete export documentation. Browse our current used truck inventory, read more market insights, or contact our export team for a tailored quotation and live video inspection.
