Sales of construction equipment rise 58%

The latest UK figures for retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in November last year showed a 25% increase on 2020 levels for the same month.

This was also an increase on the previous month, which showed a 15% increase on the previous year’s levels, and illustrates that the market remained strong in the closing months of the year.

On a year-to date basis, sales in the first eleven months of the year have reached over 34,000 units and were over 50% above 2020 levels.

This means that sales in the first eleven months of 2021 have exceeded 2019 levels and matched 2018 annual levels, with a month of sales remaining.

The pattern of sales for the major equipment types in the first eleven months of 2021 maintained a similar pattern to earlier months.

Telehandlers (for the construction industry) saw the strongest growth, with sales reaching more than double 2020 levels in the first eleven months.

In contrast, the weakest sales were experienced by mini/midi excavators (up to 10 tonnes), with the rate of increase easing back to 36% in 2021, after being the strongest growing product in 2020.

The construction equipment statistics exchange covers sales on a regional basis in the UK and Northern Ireland.

The map below shows the percentage differences for sales in the main regions in the first eleven months of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020.

This shows that sales remained the strongest in the North West and North East of England, at close to 80% up on 2020 levels.

In contrast, weakest sales were experienced in the West Midlands and Wales, at only 15% and 31% above the previous year’s 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.