Sales of construction equipment to hit new peak in 2021

Global construction equipment sales are expected to reach 1.13 million units this year. That’s a two per cent increase on the previous record achieved in 2018, writes Diesel Progress. 

The figures are from Off-Highway Research (OHR) after it released a mid-year update on its forecasts. 

OHR said the pick-up in equipment sales in the past six to nine months was noteworthy, but it also highlighted the continued challenges faced by the industry – not least supply chain constraints and bottlenecks around shipping and other logistics.

The report stated that in China, the market rose 30 percent in 2020 off the back of a programme by provincial governments to raise funds for infrastructure spending. While growth continued into the first quarter of this year, the market has since slowed. However, volumes in China still remain very high overall.

Sales in many other parts of the world are stronger than predicted at the start of this year states the article. The European market, for example, is forecast to rise 15 percent this year, compared to earlier predictions of single-digit growth. North America’s forecast has been upgraded to a rise of 13 percent.