Machine sales show resilience

25 April 2023

Figures released by the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) show that demand for machinery have remained strong during the first three months of 2023.

Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in March were more than 15 per cent above sales in the same month last year. This took sales in the first quarter to 9,500 units, which was nearly 9% above the levels seen in Q1 2022.

Following strong sales at the end of last year, feedback from CEA members suggests that Q1 sales benefited from orders placed last year on long lead times. It is expected that sales will slow down during the year when the impact of more moderate construction activity is experienced.

Crawler excavators and wheeled loaders have shown the strongest growth in Q1 at 15 per cent up on last year. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the traditionally most popular product category of mini/midi excavators have shown the weakest growth at 4.5 per cent above the levels seen last year, but perhaps this is due to ongoing availability issues.  

Figures from the construction equipment statistics exchange, which is run by Systematics International in partnership with the CEA, also show that sales in the Republic of Ireland were also strong at 20 per cent above 2022 levels. This took sales in the first quarter to 11 per cent above last year’s levels and represents a strong recovery after sales last year ended up 8 per cent below 2021 levels.

Photo: Wacker Neuson 

● Explore the Site-Eco area of the blog for news of sustainable products and developments relevant to the world of hire.