The construction machinery market will generally show a recovery trend in 2025. Domestic and foreign market demand will be driven by both wheels, and the industry prospects are optimistic.
Domestic market conditions
In the domestic market, domestic excavator sales in January 2025 dropped slightly by 0.3% year-on-year. However, due to the limited impact of the Spring Festival peak shift, the start-up data performed better than the same period in previous years. As the low base effect appears in February 2024, the year-on-year growth rate of domestic excavator sales in February 2025 is expected to reach 20%. Industry cycle estimates show that the current domestic market will reach a high point in 2028, with an upside of 150% compared to sales in 2024. In addition, the penetration of electrified products is accelerating. In January, sales of electric loaders increased by 194% year-on-year, and the penetration rate increased to 14%.
Export market conditions
The export market continues to recover moderately, and globalization is deepening. In 2024, my country’s construction machinery import and export trade volume will be US$55.45 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.6%. Among them, the export value was US$52.859 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. In January 2025, excavator exports increased by 2.19% year-on-year, and loader exports increased by 3.84%, continuing the positive growth trend since August 2024. Relying on its cost-effectiveness advantages and complete service network, China’s construction machinery has continued to increase its penetration rate in emerging markets such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. Coupled with breakthroughs in high-end markets in Europe and the United States, there is still broad room for export growth.
Industry trends and prospects
The construction machinery industry shows strong market resilience and growth potential. Driven by policy support and update cycles, the domestic market has gradually stabilized. Overseas markets consolidate growth resilience through localization strategies. The global construction machinery market size is expected to grow steadily from 2024 to 2026, and will exceed US$200 billion in 2028. There are differences in demand among different regions and products, but overall demand still has room for growth.
Market performance of specific products and regions
In the Middle East, my country’s exports of construction machinery products are growing rapidly, especially from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Infrastructure demand in the Middle East is strong, dominated by heavy equipment such as excavation, concrete and cranes. In the African market, mining investment and large-scale infrastructure construction drive market demand. Chinese brands such as Zoomlion, XCMG, Sany Heavy Industry and Liugong have performed strongly in the Middle East and African markets, and have achieved good results by optimizing products and deploying local markets.
