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2025 marked a critical year for the industry to bottom out and achieve a comprehensive recovery, according to data from the China Construction Machinery Association and the General Administration of Customs. The industry successfully stepped out of the downward cycle, presenting a robust pattern of dual growth in domestic demand and exports. For the full year, total excavator sales reached 235,257 units, a year-on-year increase of 17 percent; the total export volume of China’s construction machinery industry reached US$60.169 billion, with year-on-year growth of 13.8 percent.
The industry’s recovery accelerated significantly in 2026, with growth rates on both the production and sales sides rising notably year-on-year, confirming a solid upward trend, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the China Construction Machinery Association. Market prosperity continued to improve in the first four months of 2026, with mainstream equipment categories achieving double-digit growth. Cumulative excavator sales reached 102,081 units, up 22.2 percent year-on-year, including 28,745 units sold in April alone, a year-on-year increase of 29.8 percent. Cumulative loader sales stood at 53,757 units, rising 27.3 percent year-on-year, with the April growth rate reaching 32.4 percent. Truck cranes, crawler cranes, and forklifts increased by 13.4 percent, 36.3 percent, and 16.7 percent, respectively, reflecting the steady release of demand across all product categories.
Domestic and Overseas Demand Consolidate Solid Industry Fundamentals
In 2026, the construction machinery industry is achieving two-way growth supported by steady domestic investment in infrastructure and mining, as well as expanding overseas export markets.
Domestic Demand: Strong growth in infrastructure and mining investment provides strong underlying support for the industry. From January to March, national infrastructure investment increased by 8.90 percent year-on-year, while fixed-asset investment in the mining industry rose by 15.00 percent year-on-year. Accelerated special bond fund disbursements boosted the construction of major national projects, including the new Xizang-Xinjiang Railway, large-scale water conservancy projects, and high-standard farmland initiatives, driving robust demand for medium and large excavators, cranes, and other core construction equipment. Furthermore, the industry has entered a new equipment renewal cycle. Upgrade demand from urban renovation, rural infrastructure development, and mine expansion projects has effectively stimulated new equipment purchases and installed-base replacement needs.
Overseas Demand: Sustained expansion of overseas market demand is backed by multiple favorable factors. Emerging markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization, generating strong demand for infrastructure construction and mineral resource development. Meanwhile, European and American markets have gradually stabilized and recovered, further releasing global equipment demand. Deepened Belt and Road cooperation has remained the core driver of China’s machinery exports. Leading manufacturers, including XCMG and Sany Heavy Industry, have accelerated their global footprint, establishing local overseas production, delivery, and after-sales service systems. Localized operations effectively circumvent trade barriers, shorten delivery cycles, and continuously enhance global market penetration.
Export Competitive Advantages: Chinese construction machinery has comprehensive core competitiveness that is driving sustained overseas growth. China has a complete industrial chain for construction machinery, featuring full product coverage and stable delivery capacity to adapt to diverse global construction scenarios. Supported by continuous technological advances in electrification and intelligence, domestic equipment delivers strong energy efficiency, safety, and environmental adaptability, gaining rising recognition in global markets.
Accelerated Technological Innovation: Breakthroughs in Electrification, Intelligence, and High-End Upgrades
The industry’s recovery in 2026 is reflected not only in expanding production and sales but also in structural upgrading driven by technological advances. Breakthroughs have been continuously made in three core tracks: green electrification, intelligent unmanned operation, and high-end equipment manufacturing. New productive forces are taking shape rapidly, greatly enhancing the core technological and product competitiveness of domestic enterprises.
First, the comprehensive advancement of electrification is supporting large-scale commercial application. Leading domestic enterprises have deployed full technical routes, including pure electric, hybrid, and hydrogen power, covering mining, infrastructure, municipal engineering, and port operation scenarios with prominent energy-saving and economic advantages. The industry’s fuel-to-electricity transformation accelerated sharply in 2026, with rising market penetration of electric loaders and large-scale launches of new energy products such as electric mixer trucks, electric mining trucks, and electric rotary drills. Zoomlion has launched the world’s largest-tonnage hybrid loader and a full range of electric mixer equipment; Yutong Heavy Industries unveiled a 218-ton heavy-duty electric rotary drill, setting a new domestic record for large electric piling equipment; and Liugong’s fully electric, unmanned loaders have achieved mass delivery, adapting to high-risk and high-dust smart mining scenarios. New energy equipment has become a core growth track for the industry.
Second, the in-depth intelligent transformation and large-scale application of unmanned operation are advancing. Leveraging Industrial IoT, AI algorithms, and digital twin technology, the industry enables autonomous scheduling, path planning, remote control, and collaborative operation of construction equipment. Zoomlion’s unmanned mining system supports large-scale networked operation of hundreds of unmanned mining trucks; XCMG and Sany Heavy Industry’s integrated unmanned excavation, loading, and transportation equipment has been applied in overseas infrastructure and mining projects. Equipped with Beidou positioning and industrial AI systems, the unmanned fleets achieve end-to-end autonomous operation, significantly reducing labor costs and improving construction safety. Intelligent control systems also greatly enhance the operational efficiency and accuracy of construction machinery, supporting high-quality and efficient construction.
Third, major breakthroughs are being made in large-scale and high-end equipment localization. Domestic enterprises have intensified research and development of high-value, high-barrier large-scale equipment, constantly refreshing global industry records. World-leading equipment, including XCMG’s XCA4000 all-terrain crane and Zoomlion’s 4000-ton all-terrain crane, as well as mass-produced hundred-ton mining excavators and large aerial work platforms, is gradually replacing imported high-end equipment. This optimizes the industry’s product structure, eliminates low-end homogeneous competition, and makes high-end equipment a core profit growth driver for leading enterprises.
Annual Outlook
Overall, the construction machinery industry maintains a clear upward recovery trend in 2026, with solid multidimensional growth drivers. Booming demand in overseas emerging markets, sustained release of domestic infrastructure and mining demand, equipment renewal policies, and iterative upgrades in electrification and intelligent technologies jointly drive industrial development. Supported by dual growth from domestic and overseas markets, the industry is transforming from scale-driven recovery to high-quality development led by technological innovation, and is expected to maintain steady growth throughout the year.