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Construction equipment sales in China are expected to rise 14 per cent this year according to revised forecasts from Off-Highway Research. The previous expectation was for sales to fall 8 per cent, but stimulus measures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are now expected to reverse this trend.

Sales of earthmoving, lifting and road building equipment in China are expected to total 418,180 units this year, compared to 368,115 in 2019. It was previously expected that 2019 would be the high point in the current cycle and that sales would fall to 337,700 units in 2020.

 “The recovery in the equipment market due to investment countermeasures against the impacts of Covid-19 on the economy as a whole. The central government has adopted policies to increase investment, including a great increase in the issuing of local special bonds. In the first two months of the year, many construction projects were suspended. However, March saw them restart along with numerous new schemes,” said Off-Highway Research’s mid-year review on the Chinese industry.

It continued, “In addition, most of the old fleets purchased 8-10 years ago when the market was running at its previous peak are now at the end of their lives. The increasing demand, along with stricter regulations for environment protection, have been a driver behind the recent market boom.”

The volumes expected this year are the strongest the market has been since 2010 and 2011, when huge national stimulus spending by the Chinese Government in the wake of the global financial crisis took sales to a high of more than 520,000 units in 2011. That high was followed by a deep and painful five-year recession for the Chinese industry. While Off-Highway Research forecasts a downturn for 2021-2023, it is not expected to be as steep or as deep as seen from 2012-2016.

Off-Highway Research’s new data on the Chinese construction equipment industry is available in its Chinese Database Service and via the mid-year review to subscribers to the Chinese Service. Clients can login here. More information on Off-Highway Research's reports, databases and other services on the Chinese construction equipment industry is available by contacting [email protected]