Global construction equipment sales rose 27% in 2017 to 894,000 units, according to new data from specialist forecasting company Off-Highway Research. This was the highest the market has been since 2012, and was a marked turnaround from 2015 and 2016 when worldwide equipment sales bottomed-out at 702,000 units.
The market was worth $88 billion last year, a 25% increase on 2016’s $70.6 billion.
In North America the construction equipment market rediscovered its buoyancy last year, following a year of declining sales in 2016 as uncertainty swirled around the outcome of the presidential election. With a strengthening economy, historically high construction output, and the need to renew an aging fleet of machinery, equipment sales picked up in 2017.
“Most countries around the world saw an increase in construction equipment sales last year, with the most robust growth being in developing Asia,” said Chris Sleight, managing director of Off-Highway Research. “There was a sharp turnaround in China and the Indian market continued to go from strength to strength. Growth elsewhere in the world was more restrained, but this was still welcome after what were difficult years in 2015 and 2016.
“Over the coming years, Off-Highway Research expects moderate but sustained growth in construction equipment demand around the globe, taking sales to more than 1,000,000 units by 2022,” he continued.
