Although equipment sales continue to rise, the rate of growth has slowed from the 10% growth seen in the first quarter of 2017.
The most populous machines in the UK market are mini and midi excavators (up to 10 tonnes), and they showed 8% growth in Q1. The strongest growth was for telehandlers, the second most common equipment type, where sales grew by more than 27% compared with Q1 2017 on the back of demand from house-builders.
Sales of the other major types of construction equipment showed a range of growth rates. Compaction rollers continued to see the weakest sales in the first quarter, continuing the trend seen in 2017. This can be attributed, at least in part, to Highways England focusing its money on developing smart motorways, which involve less work on carriageways, in favour of safety barriers, drainage and other structures.
The construction equipment statistics exchange is managed by Systematics International Ltd in partnership with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA), the trade association for manufacturers in the UK.
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