UK construction equipment retail sales increased in May after falling back in April, says the Construction Equipment Association
Construction equipment sales returned to an upward path for this year after hitting a low point in January.
The rise in May sales is in line with expectations that the market is stable after a difficult start to the year.
Equipment sales are expected to show modest growth in the coming months.
Construction equipment sales remain negative
Despite improvements, comparisons with sales last year are still negative due to the high sales levels in the first half of 2023.
Sales in May were over 2,600 units, still 19% below levels in the same period in 2023.
Sales patterns of major equipment types
Graph 2 shows the sales pattern for major equipment types, comparing sales in the first five months of this year with those in the same period in 2023.
The graph displays percentage changes in sales for various machine types. It highlights that Wheeled Loaders (-20%) and Telehandlers for construction (-22%) were the two best-performing high-volume products, experiencing the smallest declines in sales.
Conversely, Road Rollers remain the weakest-performing product, with sales this year 62% lower than those seen in the first five months of last year.
Regional UK sales patterns
Unsurprisingly, all regions experienced declining sales compared to last year.
London was the best-performing region, with sales only 18% below 2023 levels.
In contrast, the West Midlands had the weakest sales, 49% lower than last year’s levels in the first five months. Northern Ireland followed closely, with a 46% decline compared to 2023.
Sales in the Republic of Ireland lower than in 2023
Equipment sales in the Republic of Ireland are included in the statistics exchange.
Sales in May were 11% lower than in 2023, bringing sales for the first five months of this year to just 9% below 2023 levels.
Notably, this was the first month this year where sales surpassed those of 2023.
