Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment remained on an upward path in June. Sales in June were close to 2,800 units, but this was still 22% below levels in the same period in 2023. As a result, sales in Q2 reached over 7,500 units compared with only 6,400 in Q1.
However, sales in the second quarter were still 25% below the level reached in Q2 last year, when sales were very high in the first half of the year. To emphasise this, sales in the first half of 2024 were 30% below 2023 levels. The first two charts included in the report show the latest sales on a monthly and quarterly basis. The monthly update includes a 12-month moving average for the first time, covering the last 5 years. This shows that the pick-up in sales in the last few months has taken levels above the long-term average, which is still on a downward trend due to the poor start to this year.
The pattern of sales for the major equipment types is shown in the third graph, which compares sales in the first half of the year with the same period in 2023. This shows percentage changes in sales for the different machine types. This shows that Telehandlers (for construction) (-19%) has become the best-performing product, ahead of Wheeled Loaders (-22%), with both showing the lowest falls in sales in the first half of the year. Road Rollers continue to be the weakest performing product, with sales this year remaining at 62% below levels seen in the first half of last year.
The pattern of sales on a regional basis in the UK is shown on the map for sales in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023. Despite modest improvements in sales, all regions continue to see declining sales compared with last year. Similar to last month, London has been the best-performing region so far this year, with sales at 15% below 2023 levels. The West Midlands has continued to see the weakest sales, which were just under 50% below last year’s levels in the first half of the year, followed by Northern Ireland, where sales were just under 46% below 2023 levels.
Equipment sales in the Republic of Ireland are also reported in the statistics exchange. Sales in June showed further improvements and were 28% above 2023 levels. As a result, Q2 sales ended up over 8% above 2023 levels, and sales in the first half of the year were only 4% below last year’s levels.
The construction equipment statistics exchange is run by Systematics International Ltd. in partnership with the CEA
