Construction equipment sales are expected to fall by 15 percent across five major global markets, including North America, Europe and China, according to a new report from Off-Highway Research.
The forecasting company's Annual Review for 2009 reports that construction equipment sales in the three above regions, plus India and Japan, totaled 635,831 units in 2008, 11 percent lower than sales in 2007.
The Chinese market is expected to see just 1 percent growth, while sales in Europe, India, Japan and North America are expected to drop, for a predicted total of 537,866 machines. The estimated sales figures for this year are nearly 25 percent lower than the peak volume in 2007, according to the report.
North America should experience the largest decrease in sales, down an estimated 28 percent, to 106,925 units. Western Europe is forecast for a decline of 26 percent and sales in Japan are predicted to fall by 20 percent. The Indian market should see a 22 percent drop from last year's totals.
