The UK’s construction machinery sales have improved for March 2021 compared with March 2020. The figures show that retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in March 2021 were close to double the levels seen in March 202 when the impact of the pandemic began to be felt.
The data comes from the construction equipment statistics exchange, which is run by Systematics International. This scheme is run in partnership with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA), the UK trade association.
According to the report, overall sales in the first quarter of 2021 were 30% above those of 2020 levels and reached over 8,000 units. Sales in the first quarter of the year were expected to show a big increase on last year due to the pandemic. Sales this year were also 2.9% above 2019 levels and suggest significant momentum in the market in the early months of the year. There are concerns equipment sales could be held back this year due to supply constraints for some components. However, there is growing confidence that sales should see a strong recovery for the full year.
The pattern of sales for the major equipment types in the first quarter of the year show that the growth in sales is still being driven by excavators. Mini/Midi excavators (up to 10 tonnes) and crawler excavators saw the strongest growth compared with Q1 last year. Amongst the other equipment types, road rollers and telehandlers (to the construction industry) also showed strong recoveries in the first quarter.
The construction equipment statistics exchange covers sales on a regional basis in the UK and N Ireland. Sales in the South East were the strongest (+39%), while Wales saw the weakest sales in the first quarter, still 2% below last years’ levels.
Sales in the Republic of Ireland are also recorded in the statistics scheme, and saw a more modest increase in March compared with the UK. This resulted in Q1 sales this year ending up at 12% above 2020 levels.
