ConstructionWorX DIGITAL
HARD DATA
UK Construction sector – heading for a slow down? The CEA’s Market Analyst, Paul Lyons, looks at the latest machine sales data and construction market indicators predicting a general market slow down… Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment saw modest 2.7% growth in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same quarter last year. This reflects a pattern of slowing growth, after sales reached “record” levels last year, the highest since before the financial crash in 2008. Sales reached over 36,000 units in 2021, as shown in the graph below, recording growth of 48% on 2020 levels, as the market recovered from the pandemic. As the market shows signs of cooling down this year, Off-Highway Research are forecasting that sales of construction equipment in 2022 will be relatively flat, showing growth of only 4% on 2021 levels. The climate of uncertainty has increased this year following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and has added rising cost pressures to existing supply chain issues for materials and labour availability within the
16 JUNE 2022
