FCC

Global equipment sales see 12 per cent growth in 2018

2018-08-24

Worldwide construction equipment sales are expected to increase 12 per cent this year, according to Off-Highway Research. This will take total sales to almost one million units in 2018. The total retail value of sales is expected to approach $99 billion. Continued infrastructure investment in China is expected to drive up earthmoving equipment sales by 31 per cent this year, following on from the 81 per cent surge seen in 2017. This will take demand to 283,500 units, or 325,000 machines including mobile cranes and compaction equipment, making it by far the largest construction equipment market in the world in volume terms.

The Indian construction equipment market is set for a third consecutive year of double-digit growth, according to the report. Demand is expected to rise 16 per cent in 2018, following on from the 15 per cent increase seen last year and the remarkable surge of 39 per cent enjoyed in 2015. This is expected to take earthmoving equipment sales this year above the 70,000-unit mark for the first time and push the value of the Indian market to a record $3.5 billion. North American equipment demand sees strong growth this year also. There was a hiatus in sales in 2016 due to uncertainty in the run-up to the election. Growth resumed in 2017, taking volumes back to their 2015 levels. This year sales are expected to rise another 13 per cent to almost 200,000 units.

The demand for equipment in Europe is also at a good level. Sales exceeded 160,000 units last year for the first time since the global crisis, and in 2018 the market is expected to edge up to 165,000 machines, according to the Off-Highway Research figures.

Global equipment sales over the medium term are expected to stabilise around the one million units per year mark, with a retail value of around $100 billion.