Excavators and bulldozers: world market for 1 million machines in 2020
Sales of earth moving machinery in Italy grew by 16% in 2017. Recovery over the next three years will be driven by the replacement of vehicle fleets and new investments in the building & construction sector.
The bar is set at 1 million. One million earth moving machines will be purchased in 2020 all over the world, with a neck and neck battle increasingly involving North America and China. The market has got going again after years of recession. After closing 2017 with an historical record of 825 thousand vehicles sold (an increase of 23% compared to the previous year), over the next three years the sector seeks to consolidate this recovery through steady growth expected to improve from +5.3% in 2018 to +7.6% in 2020.
The data presented in the study – developed in collaboration with research company Prometeia and Unacea, the Italian association that brings together construction equipment companies – were presented during the 4th edition of SaMoTer Day, an update and training event for operators and organised in the run-up to the next SaMoTer.
Among mature economies, North America once again confirms its status as the reference market in the future, with 9% more orders in 2020, backed up by investments in buildings increasing by 2.5% per year on average. Thanks to average growth in demand for construction equipment of 5% between 2018 and 2020, Europe will return to 2007 pre-crisis levels, with a total of 205,000 units. Japan is expected to slow down somewhat, posting only +1% in sales between 2019 and 2020.
The outlook for emerging markets sees construction accelerate once again in Latin America, with relative demand for construction machinery estimated at +17% between 2019 and 2020. China – today the second world market with a 21% market share – is expected to stabilise at around 180,000 units sold for an average growth rate of 2-3% effectively bringing the Asian giant on a par with North American competitors. Central and Eastern Europe will post an absolute record of 44,000 machines in 2020 (+11%), half of which will be bought by Russia. Good growth also assumed for India with 50,000 units in 2020 (12%).
The recovery will be boosted as the positive cycle in the construction sector becomes even stronger: global investments in 2017 came to reach 6,912 billion euros, up 3.1% over 2016. This period of expansive will continue until 2020, at an average of even more than 3%
