Mining companies across North America favour cost reductions and efficiency boosters when acquiring equipment, a recent survey of over 100 buyers and decision-makers shows.

While the triggers for purchases are not at all surprising, the paper — produced by Timetric’s Mining Intelligence Center (MIC) — outlines the top three areas where suppliers of heavy equipment need to improve the most if they want to increase sales: product quality/reliability, availability of parts, and ability to support cost reduction/minimization.

Respondents were also asked to nominate their satisfaction across a number of different factors. Once again, it was cost-related aspects such as “total life costs,” “maintenance and service costs” and “price”, where North American miners had the lowest satisfaction levels.

While the sector leaders, such as Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Joy Global (NYSE, TSE:JOY), all received high satisfaction ratings for product quality, the results show that mining companies in the U.S. and Canada feel there is still room for improvement.

But there is a main difference between what Americans and Canadians think needs to be fostered, says the paper. US miners are still mostly worried about costs and the need for expense cut, while Canadian miners are primarily focused on the product quality and reliability.