The report says that most major territories will see growth during 2017. However China’s resurgence will be crucial, as crawler excavator sales in the country have more than doubled in the first half of 2017, compared to the same period last year.
The Indian market remains strong, with 10% sales growth forecast for this year. India saw26% growth during 2016. The continued improvement will see total machine sales to India beat the previous record high of 54,065 units in 2011.
In Europe, sales of construction equipment in are expected to grow 2% this year to almost 145,000 units. This follows an 11% growth in 2016, which was driven by booming demand from Germany.
The North American market is expected to climb 8% to over 170,000 units. This would take it back to levels seen in 2014 and 2015, before market growth was disrupted by last year’s presidential election.
Similarly, in Japan, a 4% increase in equipment sales is expected, following a slump in demand last year.
Over the longer term, Off-Highway Research expects global construction equipment sales to rise to close to 900,000 units by 2021, with a value of more than US$90 billion in today’s terms.
A report by Off-Highway Research suggests that worldwide construction machine sales could increase 16% this year. On a global basis, sales of construction machines are expected to exceed 810,000 units in 2017, with a value of more than US$80 billion.
