Chinese OEM listings on Made-in-China, Alibaba, and Okorder consistently treat "mobile crane" as the umbrella category and "truck crane" as its most-exported sub-type, with truck-mounted boom units dominating the 3-ton to 100-ton commercial sweet spot [S1][S2][S7]. The decision between a mobile crane and a truck-mounted crane is therefore less about brand and more about chassis type, road-legal axle load, and outrigger geometry.
Reference export pricing on 2026-07 listings spans US$20,000-50,000 for a 6-ton truck crane (model YGQY6H, 120 kN·m rated lifting moment, MOQ 1 unit, 15 unit/month supply) [S3], US$10,263-38,763 for 3.2-ton cargo-truck-mounted units [S5], and US$50,000-900,000 for 100-ton mobile boat-hoist/straddle-carrier units out of Henan [S7]. Alibaba indexes 1,676 active Chinese suppliers under "crane mobile crane," with Africa and Southeast Asia each absorbing roughly 30% of inquiry volume [S2].
Definitions and Mechanical Boundary
A truck crane is a crane permanently bolted to a commercial truck chassis with outriggers, an operator cab, and a telescopic or lattice boom engineered for highway transit at posted axle limits [S3][S4]. The 6-ton YGQY6H, for example, pairs a 120 kN·m rated lifting moment with a 6,000 kg maximum lift on a road-going carrier [S3]. The QY30KT5 oilfield variant carries the same DNA at 30-ton class for upstream service [S8], while the QY50K uses a multi-axle heavy-duty truck base for 50-ton road-legal lifts [S4].
A mobile crane is the broader class that includes truck cranes, all-terrain cranes, rough-terrain cranes, and crawler cranes - anything self-propelled to the jobsite rather than erected on site [S2][S6]. Beijing Wellsee Trade, a 2026-07 active exporter, lists "crane, truck crane, mobile crane, hydraulic truck crane, crawler crane, all-terrain truck crane, hydraulic mobile crane" as parallel product lines, confirming the umbrella use of the term in commercial catalogs [S6].
Selection Criteria: Mobility, Capacity, and Cost
Three criteria drive the call. First, road-legal mobility: truck cranes roll on rubber at 60-80 km/h and self-deploy outriggers in under 10 minutes, making them the default for urban infrastructure, tower erection, and short-haul industrial lifts [S3][S4]. Second, capacity envelope: sub-12-ton truck cranes (Junton JSQ300G stiff-boom, US$64,800) handle construction-yard work, while 25-100 ton class units (US$37,000-55,000 for factory-wholesale truck cranes, scaling to US$50,000-900,000 for 100-ton mobile boat-hoist rigs) cover bridge, wind, and energy-sector work [S7][S9].
Third, total landed cost: the 3.2-ton cargo-truck-mounted crane at US$10,263 FOB suits last-mile delivery fleets, whereas a 100-ton mobile unit at up to US$900,000 reflects the multi-axle carrier, counterweight package, and outrigger pad engineering embedded in the price [S5][S7]. OEMs in Jiangsu and Hubei offer OEM/ODM customization on this range, with sample service and ISO-aligned production on the listed suppliers [S1][S5].
Who the Truck Crane Is For - and Who Should Look Elsewhere
Specify a truck crane when the lift site is reachable by paved or graded road, the lift is under 100 tons, the cycle time favors highway transit between sites, and the operator pool is licensed for commercial truck-class vehicles [S3][S4][S9]. The Junton 12-ton stiff-boom unit and 25-ton cargo-truck-mounted boom typify the daily-driver workhorse role in construction and logistics yards [S5][S9].
Step away from the truck crane when the jobsite is soft ground, off-road, or requires pick-and-carry duties with the load suspended - that is rough-terrain or all-terrain territory [S2][S6]. Crawler cranes take over for 100-800 ton class lifts where ground-bearing pressure and counterweight stability, not highway speed, dominate the engineering case [S6][S7]. A dump truck chassis conversion is rarely the right host for a 50-ton lift; OEMs move to purpose-built 4- to 7-axle carriers at that envelope [S4][S7].
Side-by-Side Comparison: Truck Crane vs Other Mobile Crane Sub-Types
Against rough-terrain and crawler units, a truck crane wins on transit speed, on-road axle compliance, and unit price - the 6-ton YGQY6H at US$20,000-50,000 is one to two orders of magnitude cheaper than a 100-ton mobile unit [S3][S7]. It loses on ground pressure (rubber tires vs steel tracks), pick-and-carry capacity with load over front, and slope tolerance - crawler cranes distribute load across a far larger footprint and can lift on grades that stall a wheeled carrier [S6][S7].
Against an all-terrain crane, the truck crane wins on unit cost and parts commonality with the donor truck brand; the all-terrain unit wins on multi-mode suspension, higher road speeds under load, and heavier lift envelopes in the 80-300 ton band commonly seen on Zoomlion and XCMG export lines [S2][S6]. For buyers comparing a reach truck fleet expansion, the truck crane is the analog on the lifting side - a roadable, fast-deploying tool rather than a yard-bound specialist.
Use Cases From 2026 Export Activity
Alibaba supplier data lists Africa and Southeast Asia as tied top markets for Chinese mobile-crane suppliers at 30.0% each, with South America at 15.0% [S2]. Concrete-pump-truck and ready-mix-concrete buyers frequently bundle a smaller truck crane (3-12 ton) for rebar placement and formwork, an application covered in parallel by the concrete pump truck vs ready-mix concrete decision map.
Oilfield and energy-sector buyers specify 30-ton truck cranes (QY30KT5) for upstream equipment handling, while 50-ton class units like the QY50K move into petrochemical and power-plant erection [S4][S8]. Buyers weighing a truck crane against a fixed gantry or overhead bridge solution can cross-reference the gantry crane vs truck crane and overhead bridge crane vs truck crane selection maps for the stationary-mobile trade-off.
Limitations, Failure Modes, and Sourcing Caveats
Truck cranes inherit the truck chassis's braking, tire, and axle-load limits; a 50-ton lift on a two-axle truck base is structurally and legally impossible, which is why the QY50K uses a multi-axle heavy carrier [S4]. Outrigger pad-bearing pressure on soft asphalt remains the most common field failure mode - a problem crawlers eliminate by design. Counterweight removal and re-installation time also bites utilization rates on multi-shift work.
On sourcing, the Made-in-China and Okorder listings flagged for 2026-07 show wide price dispersion on identical capacity classes (US$37,000-55,000 for 25-ton truck cranes across multiple Jiangsu and Anhui OEMs) - a signal to benchmark at least three FOB quotes, confirm ISO 9001:2015 or equivalent factory audit, and lock the spare-parts package before LC opening [S1][S5][S9]. Alibaba supplier counts above 1,000 in this category confirm that capacity exists; the selection risk is vendor differentiation, not market shortage [S2].
Standards, Compliance, and What to Lock in the Purchase Spec
Chinese OEM truck-crane production for export generally aligns with GB/T 6067.1 series for safety, EN 13000 for crawler/mobile crane design principles adopted by European buyers, and ASME B30.5 for North American mobile- and locomotive-crane service - buyers should request the applicable compliance matrix in the PI [S1][S5]. Operator-side, ILO-152 and local crane-operator certification govern site deployment.
For procurement, lock the rated lifting moment (kN·m), maximum lift (kg), boom sections and extension range, outrigger span, counterweight mass, axle count and gross vehicle weight, and engine emission tier - these eight data points cover roughly 90% of the engineering rejection risk on a Chinese OEM truck-crane PO [S3][S4][S7]. A truck scale on the delivery dock should be specified to verify axle load before the unit enters service.
Track two signals into Q4 2026: the spread between FOB and CIF quotes on 25-ton and 50-ton truck cranes (a tightening spread signals normalizing container slots; widening signals a freight-rate inflection), and the number of new Jiangsu- and Hubei-based OEM listings on Made-in-China under the "Truck Crane" filter - both move ahead of the next capacity-price cycle [S2][S5][S9].