Machinery sales normalise

30 January 2024

Perhaps not surprisingly given the supply chain turbulence in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, figures from the CEA (Construction Equipment Association) show that in December, sales of construction and earthmoving equipment continued to fall, leading to a 29% drop in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.

This was the lowest quarterly level of sales since the onset of Covid in 2020, at approximately 6,500 units. For the full year, sales in 2023 reached 34,300 units and were 8.8% below 2022 levels. This was 2,000 to 3,000 units below the level of equipment sales seen in 2021 and 2022, but the highest years since the financial crash in 2008.

In the first half of the year, sales were 8% above 2022 levels, but in the second half they ended up 25% below the previous year. Sales in the early months of 2023 were still benefiting from the ‘catch-up’ impact of supply chain constraints in 2022, which extended lead times for the delivery of machines, says the CEA. In contrast, equipment sales in the second half of 2023 experienced the impact of declining levels of construction activity, particularly in the housebuilding market.

Wheeled loaders ended up as the strongest-selling product last year, up by 10%, with telehandlers for construction up by 4%. Mini/midi excavator sales were 10% below 2022 levels and crawler excavators 18% below the previous year.

The construction equipment statistics exchange which delivers the data is run by Systematics International Ltd in partnership with the CEA. 

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