Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in February were at the same levels as last year. This took sales for the first two months of the year to 5,400 units, which was 4.3% above the same period in 2022. After-sales showed strong growth in Q4 last year, and further growth in January, this could be the first sign that sales are slowing down, which is what is forecast for 2023, against a background of lower levels of construction activity.
The pattern of sales for the major equipment types is shown in the second chart below, comparing Jan/Feb 2023 levels with the same period in the previous year. This shows percentage changes in sales ranked from the highest to the lowest and shows an interesting pattern for the different machine types. The smaller volume products, led by road rollers, are showing the strongest growth so far this year, while the higher volume products are mostly at similar levels to last year. Crawler excavators are 12% above last year’s levels in the first two months, but mini/midi excavators and telehandlers (for construction) are at the same levels as 2022.
The pattern of sales on a regional basis in the UK and N Ireland is shown in the map below for Jan/Feb 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. This continues to show a very mixed pattern across the regions. The strongest sales in the first two months were in the South East (+26%), while the weakest sales were in the North West (-24%) and N Ireland (-20%).
Equipment sales in the Republic of Ireland are also reported in the statistics exchange. Sales in February continued to show growth and are now 5.5% above last year’s levels in the first two months of the year. This is an encouraging start to the year after sales last year ended up 8% below 2021 levels.
The construction equipment statistics exchange is run by Systematics International Ltd. This scheme is run in partnership with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA), the UK trade association.
