China’s construction machinery driven by domestic and overseas markets

In September 2025 and the first three quarters of the year, China’s construction machinery industry saw resonating demand in both domestic and overseas markets, driving significant growth in excavator and loader sales. However, the operating data of the equipment declined year-on-year.

Core Sales Data
Excavators:
September: 19,858 units sold (up 25.4% YoY), including 9,249 units domestically (up 21.5% YoY) and 10,609 units exported (up 29% YoY); 31 units were electric excavators.
Jan-Sept: 174,039 units sold cumulatively (up 18.1% YoY), with 89,877 units domestically (up 21.5% YoY) and 84,162 units exported (up 14.6% YoY).

Loaders:
September: 10,530 units sold (up 30.5% YoY), consisting of 5,051 units domestically (up 25.6% YoY) and 5,479 units exported (up 35.3% YoY); 2,586 units were electric loaders.
Jan-Sept: 93,739 units sold cumulatively (up 14.6% YoY), including 49,996 units domestically (up 20.7% YoY) and 43,743 units exported (up 8.31% YoY).

Other Key Information
Operating Performance: In September, the average monthly operating hours of major construction machinery products reached 78.1 hours (down 13.3% YoY), and the monthly operating rate stood at 55.2% (down 9.08 percentage points YoY).

Export Trend: From January to August, the import and export volume of China’s construction machinery reached US$40.398 billion (up 11% YoY), with export value at US$38.597 billion (up 11.4% YoY). The China Construction Machinery Association expects the industry’s annual export volume to remain at a high level.

Growth Drivers: Domestic demand benefits from the new round of equipment replacement cycle and the start of large-scale projects such as the Yaxia Hydropower Project; overseas demand is driven by continuous infrastructure construction needs in countries along the “Belt and Road,” sustaining high export growth.

20 October 2025 reported by Machinery News