As the core mainstream equipment of construction machinery, the excavator industry as a whole presented a differentiated development pattern of sluggish domestic demand and booming export sales. The overseas import and export market has become the core pillar to stabilize the overall industrial economic market and offset the weakness of the domestic market. According to the special industry statistical data for the first half of 2023 authoritatively released by the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), mainstream domestic excavator manufacturers achieved a total sales volume of 108,818 excavators from January to June 2023, with a year-on-year slight decrease of 24%. The domestic new machine market officially entered a periodic adjustment cycle of destocking and structural adjustment, and the industry gradually bid farewell to the era of high-speed growth and turned to a high-quality and steady development model. In terms of the segmented structure of domestic and export sales, the polarization of the market was particularly prominent, and the weakness of domestic terminal demand continued to be prominent. Domestic excavator domestic demand sales reached only 51,031 units in the first half of the year, a significant year-on-year decline of 44%.
Affected by the slowdown of domestic infrastructure project implementation, the substantial reduction of real estate supporting projects, the slowdown of urban and rural infrastructure investment growth, and the high inventory of new machines, terminal construction enterprises had a low willingness to purchase new machines, leading to a continued weakness in the domestic demand market. In sharp contrast, domestic excavators achieved a vigorous overseas development momentum, and the export market achieved a contrarian high-speed growth, becoming the biggest highlight of the industry throughout the year. Domestic excavator export sales reached 57,787 units in the first half of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 11.2%. This is the first time in the history of the domestic excavator industry that the first-half export sales exceeded domestic sales, marking that domestic excavators have officially entered a new development stage dominated by overseas exports and supplemented by domestic sales. In terms of the global export regional distribution, demand in emerging infrastructure markets such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America continued to be released intensively. Relying on the economic and trade cooperation dividends of the Belt and Road Initiative, the continuous implementation of overseas infrastructure projects, mineral development and urban-rural construction projects has provided a broad incremental market for domestic excavators. At the same time, breakthroughs have been gradually made in the high-end equipment markets of developed countries in Europe and America, and the export share of domestic high-end excavators has increased steadily. With ultra-high cost performance, mature and stable equipment performance, complete technical support and an increasingly sound overseas after-sales system, domestic excavators have continuously enhanced their core competitiveness in the global market and expanded their international brand influence. For the used excavator industry, the continuous warming of overseas rigid demand markets has greatly driven the cross-border circulation and export trade of domestic used excavators. Small and medium-sized used excavators are perfectly suitable for the needs of overseas small and medium-sized construction projects due to their lightweight body, wide application scenarios, no long running-in period, ready-to-use performance and low investment cost, and are deeply favored by overseas merchants in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and other regions, with the transaction volume of used equipment exports rising continuously. With years of in-depth experience in the used excavator industry, Hefei Yixin Construction Machinery analyzes that the excavator industry showed strong export resilience in the first half of 2023, which effectively hedged the downward pressure on the domestic demand market and consolidated the basic foundation of industrial development.
With the gradual implementation and effectiveness of a series of domestic policies to stabilize infrastructure, investment and make up for shortcomings, coupled with the continuous expansion of the global overseas market and the continuous improvement of the international recognition of domestic equipment, the overall domestic excavator industry is expected to stabilize and recover gradually in the second half of 2023. Used excavators with higher cost performance and lower investment risks will continue to occupy the terminal market, and the market circulation activity and transaction volume will achieve steady growth.
