For the first three quarters of 2020, construction and earthmoving equipment sales were down 31% on 2019 levels.
[n.b. These numbers are all unit sales, not the value of goods sold.]
By the end of Q2, 2020 sales were down 38% on 2019 but sales picked up in September to reduce the deficit.
Sales in September 2020 of more than 2,600 units were only 7% below 2019 levels. Sales in previous months since May have been on an improving trend, but were still showing double digit shortfalls compared with sales in the same month in 2019.
The Construction Equipment Association, for whom the information is collected, expects that equipment sales for the full year might be in the range of 25% to 30% below 2019 levels.
The chart below provides an update on the ranking of sales for the major equipment types, showing the size of the decline in the first three quarters of the year compared with the same period in 2019. This shows a similar pattern to previous months with the most popular equipment type, mini and midi excavators (up to 10 tonnes), continuing to see stronger demand than all of the other equipment types. Sales of mini/midi excavators in Q3 were 7% above 2019 levels, and reduced the shortfall in year to date sales to only 13% below 2019. Demand from the house-building market is reported to be supporting sales for these smaller machines. Sales of many of the other major equipment types are still more than 40% lower than 2019 levels on a year to date basis.
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