ConstructionWorX DIGITAL
Latest outlook Global construction equipment sales this year will be a little lower than previously expected, but this is due entirely to the woes of the Chinese market. Elsewhere in the world demand is still good.
Chris Sleight Managing Director Off Highway Research
Global construction equipment sales hit a record high in 2021 with 1.3 million machines sold. This was across mainstream categories of compact and earthmoving equipment categories, combined with some machine types in the roadbuilding and off-highway materials handling space. That record volume was driven by the stimulus measures put in place around the world to combat the economic effects of the Covid pandemic. Indeed, it is generally agreed that sales could have been significantly higher were it not for the supply chain constraints and shipping bottlenecks caused by the pandemic. China was at the forefront of growth in 2021, having put huge stimulus spending in place very quickly in 2020 – an echo of the action it took in
2009 in response to the global financial crisis. For most other countries there was growth – mainly in housebuilding thanks to low interest rates – but it was a slower burn. The drivers of the previous two years led to a contrasting picture in 2022. In almost all countries of the world apart from China, demand remained red-hot. Sales in the world excluding China grew 7 per cent in 2022, following on from a 19 per cent increase in 2021 in the same territories. That picture is being repeated this year, with sales in China plummeting, while the rest of the world remains fairly strong. Most markets are turning down, but as they are coming off record highs, the volumes of machines being sold are still good. Global sales of construction equipment by region, 2017-2026* (units) Global construction equipment sales will total 1.1 million units this year, a 13% decline on 2022. However, the world excluding China will only be down 6%
CHINA After two years of abnormally high sales in 2020 and 2021 thanks to stimulus spending, the Chinese market collapsed in 2022 with a 39 per cent decline. This was not only due to the stimulus money running out, but the impact was compounded by turbulence in the Chinese real estate sector coupled with the country’s difficulties in getting to grips with Covid. The only bright spot in China over the last year or two has
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