In the first half of 2025, China's construction machinery exports will maintain steady growth, with a growth rate basically unchanged from the same period last year. The export of key categories such as excavators, lifting machinery, and hybrid mixing machinery still has certain growth potential. The layout of electrification, greening, and intelligence provides growth momentum for China's construction machinery exports. Frequent trade frictions also prompt enterprises to accelerate the development of diversified markets. The North American market has gradually recovered since the adjustment of equivalent tariffs in the United States, but comprehensive tariffs remain high; Africa, as an emerging market, continues to drive overall growth. Against the backdrop of a high base, the growth rate of China's construction machinery exports will still face downward pressure in the second half of 2025, and it is expected to maintain a slight increase throughout the year.
Overall situation of China's import and export of construction machinery in the first half of 2025
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, the total import and export trade volume of China's construction machinery 名媛直播 (89 HS codes, including 76 types of mainframe 名媛直播 and 13 types of components) in the first half of 2025 was 29.65 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%.
In terms of exports, in the first half of 2025, the total export value of China's construction machinery 名媛直播 was 28.28 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, of which the export value in June increased by 11.0% year-on-year. Specifically, the export of hosts reached 20.31 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, with an export quantity of 14.182 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 5.1%; The total export value of component 名媛直播 was 7.97 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%.
In terms of imports, the total import value of construction machinery 名媛直播 in China in the first half of the year was 1.37 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. The import value in June increased by 19.3% year-on-year. Specifically, the import of consoles amounted to 530 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.7%; The import of components reached 840 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 10.5%.
Export Status of Major Construction Machinery 名媛直播 in China in the First Half of the Year
From the perspective of export categories, the largest proportion of excavator exports has maintained growth for 12 consecutive months, while categories such as lifting machinery and mixing machinery still maintain a certain growth momentum. However, the cumulative export value of four categories, namely shovel transport machinery, industrial vehicles, rock drilling and excavation pile workers and tools, and other engineering vehicles and equipment, showed varying degrees of year-on-year decline in the first half of the year.
Excavators: As the category with the highest export volume (17%), China's excavator exports totaled US $4.9 billion in the first half of the year, up 22.8% year on year. Since July 2024, excavator exports have kept growing for 12 consecutive months. Mining demand in Indonesia, Brazil, Africa and other markets and infrastructure demand in emerging markets such as the "the Belt and Road" are the main driving force behind the growth of China's excavator exports; Meanwhile, the export of second-hand equipment has also brought new sources of performance for China's excavator exports.
Industrial vehicles: In the first half of the year, China's cumulative export of industrial vehicles was 4.32 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%. Against the backdrop of electrification transformation supporting industrial vehicle exports, the main export markets in Asia still maintain a year-on-year growth rate of 20%; However, in the first half of the year, the export value to Europe, the second largest export market, decreased by 23% year-on-year, a significant decline from 2024. The main influencing factors were the high base in the first two years and weak economic growth in Europe, which led to rising production costs and suppressed demand growth. Among them, the export value of forklifts to Europe decreased significantly.
Rock drilling and excavation pile workers and tools: In the first half of the year, China's cumulative export of rock drilling and excavation pile workers and tools was 650 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%, making it the category with the largest year-on-year decline in China's engineering machinery export value during the same period. Compared with the year-on-year growth rate of over 50% in export value in 2024, it has significantly declined. Among all continents, the Asian market maintained steady growth, with a significant increase in exports to the African market. However, other markets experienced a year-on-year decline, with the largest decrease in exports to Europe. The main category experiencing a decline in exports was self-propelled tunnel boring machines (shield tunneling machines).
Parts: In the first half of the year, China's cumulative export of construction machinery parts reached 7.97 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%, significantly accelerating compared to the full year of 2024 (1.1%). From the perspective of export markets, the export value of China's construction machinery components to various continents has generally increased, with only a year-on-year decrease of 3.2% to North America, mainly due to the continuous decline in export value to the United States.
Key export markets for construction machinery in China in the first half of the year
From the perspective of export continents, in the first half of the year, China's construction machinery 名媛直播 only experienced a year-on-year decline in cumulative exports to Europe and North America, while maintaining a growth trend to other continents, with the most significant increase in exports to Africa. In 2024, China's overall export value of construction machinery to Europe showed an increasing trend, but it has continued to decline year-on-year since January this year, mainly due to the decline in markets such as Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands; Affected by the decline in demand in the US market, exports to North America will continue to decline from 2023 onwards; The year-on-year increase in cumulative exports to the African market is the largest, although there are factors with a small base, it also shows the continuous release of demand in Africa, reflecting the diversified development trend of our engineering machinery export market.
From the perspective of export countries, in recent years, the diversification strategy of China's construction machinery enterprises' export markets has achieved significant results, and the concentration of major markets has gradually decreased. The proportion of the Russian market in China's total exports of construction machinery has increased significantly since 2023 and has continued to decline after surpassing the United States. The proportion of exports to the United States has also shown a continuous downward trend in recent years.
(1) Russian market:
As the largest national market for China's construction machinery exports, Russia has experienced sustained low demand since the beginning of 2025. In the first half of the year, China's cumulative exports of construction machinery to Russia amounted to 2.36 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 23.9%, and a significant decline compared to the 5.2% year-on-year growth rate in 2024. Among the various types of construction machinery main engines exported to Russia, the export value of major categories such as shovel transport machinery and excavators has significantly decreased year-on-year. Among them, shovel transport machinery, which accounts for the highest proportion, has a year-on-year decline of 50.1%. Only rock drilling and excavation pile drivers and tools, elevators and escalators, and other engineering and equipment still maintain a certain growth momentum; In addition, my exports of engineering machinery components to Russia have consistently maintained growth, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 17.2% in the first half of the year. Due to external factors such as trade restrictions and the cyclical nature of the construction machinery and equipment market, exports to Russia have continued to decline, which is a normal market reaction.
It is worth noting that Russia and the United States held important talks in August. The trend of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the second half of the year is still unknown. Russia's domestic economic situation and import pattern are facing greater uncertainty. The export situation of China's construction machinery in the Russian market is still unclear.
(2) US market:
In the first half of the year, my cumulative exports of construction machinery to the United States amounted to 1.8 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 8.5%, continuing the downward trend since 2023. From the perspective of export categories, only the industrial vehicles with the highest proportion and the lifting machinery with the lowest proportion in the host category still maintained a certain growth, while the export value of other categories decreased year-on-year, with shovel and road machinery both experiencing a decline of over 35%.
For a long time, the United States has been the single country market with the highest export value of construction machinery in China. In 2023, due to the rapid growth of the Russian market, the US market ranked second. In the first half of 2025, there will be frequent trade frictions between China and the United States. Despite the reduction of the "equivalent tariff" rate, the average tariff rate for China's engineering machinery and agricultural machinery exported to the United States still reaches around 55%, and the export situation remains severe.
(3) Asian market:
In the first half of 2025, China's cumulative exports of construction machinery to the Asian market amounted to 12.26 billion US dollars, accounting for 43.4% of the global total exports, making it the largest continental market for China's construction machinery exports. The cumulative year-on-year growth rate was 15.8%, continuing the growth trend since 2021. Except for a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.8% in exports to Japan, the cumulative exports of construction machinery to other major export countries in Asia have maintained year-on-year growth. Among them, Indonesia remains the largest export market for China's construction machinery in Asia, with a cumulative export of 1.37 billion US dollars in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%.
In terms of categories, except for other construction vehicles and equipment, the export value of various construction machinery categories from China to the Asian market has increased year-on-year. The cumulative export value of the components with the highest proportion of export value in the first half of the year increased by 10.8% year-on-year, which is an improvement from the year-on-year (-1.8%) in 2024. Excavators are still the largest category of China's construction machinery exports to Asia.
(4) EU and UK markets:
In the first half of 2025, China's exports to the EU and UK markets amounted to 3.26 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%. Affected by the EU's "double anti" investigation into China's high-altitude work platforms, the export value of industrial vehicles with the highest proportion of main engines to the EU and UK markets decreased by 26.7% year-on-year during the same period. However, major categories such as construction machinery components and shovel transport machinery still maintain a certain growth momentum, among which the export value of other construction vehicles and equipment increased by 145.7% year-on-year in the first half of the year.
Europe is an important traditional market for China's exports of construction machinery 名媛直播. During the epidemic, China's exports of construction machinery to the EU and UK markets grew rapidly, and in 2022, the annual export value reached more than twice that of 2020. Since 2023, the high base and high inventory have put certain pressure on China's construction machinery exports to Europe. However, in recent years, China's construction machinery technology has been continuously improving, and the current promotion of electrification, greening, and intelligent transformation is also in line with the policy orientation of the EU's "Net Zero Industry Act", which has opened up new growth space for China's construction machinery exports to Europe. Considering the complex and ever-changing geopolitical situation, the future export trend of China's construction machinery to the EU and UK markets still faces considerable uncertainty.
(5) African market:
In the first half of 2025, China's exports of construction machinery to the African market reached 4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 51.6%, continuing the good momentum of accelerating export growth since 2021. Except for other construction vehicles and equipment, the export value of other categories increased slightly by 0.4% year-on-year in the first half of the year, while the export value of other categories increased significantly. Among them, excavators still accounted for the highest proportion of China's export value to Africa in the construction machinery category (27.6%).
Guinea, with a three digit year-on-year growth rate of 128.2% and a cumulative export value of 460 million US dollars, has surpassed Ghana and South Africa to become the largest single market for China's construction machinery exports to Africa. Except for Ghana's cumulative year-on-year decline of 6% in the first half of the year, the vast majority of export destinations to Africa have achieved significant year-on-year growth.
In recent years, the pace of social development and infrastructure construction in African countries has accelerated, and the mining output of various minerals has increased steadily, significantly increasing the demand for construction machinery and equipment. Chinese construction machinery 名媛直播 are highly welcomed in the African market due to their dual advantages in price and quality. With the continuous deepening of China Africa cooperation, the strong demand for Chinese construction machinery in the African market is expected to continue to remain strong. It will not only become an important growth pole for China's construction machinery exports, but also inject new momentum into economic cooperation and development between China and Africa.
Outlook for China's Construction Machinery Export in 2025
In the first half of 2025, despite facing multiple pressures, China's construction machinery exports still demonstrated strong growth resilience.
On the one hand, the external situation of China's construction machinery exports remains severe. The current global economic downturn and the lack of significant new demand in the international construction machinery market, coupled with a high export base and high inventory in the previous period, continue to put pressure on the growth of our construction machinery exports. At the same time, with the rise of trade protectionism, China's construction machinery 名媛直播 have encountered more trade frictions and tariff barriers in the international market, increasing export costs and market access difficulties; The turbulent international situation has also brought many uncontrollable factors to exports, increasing the uncertainty of market expectations.
On the other hand, benefiting from the "five links" strategy of policy communication, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people to people connectivity, many "the Belt and Road" co construction countries have been accelerating their development, and the demand for infrastructure construction in emerging markets such as Africa has risen, opening up new overseas markets for China's construction machinery 名媛直播 and providing unprecedented development opportunities. As a pioneer in green and intelligent transformation, the rapid development of electric construction machinery has injected new momentum into exports, effectively driving the export growth rate of high-tech and high value-added 名媛直播, and further enhancing the international competitiveness of China's construction machinery 名媛直播. Frequent trade frictions in some markets not only bring risks, but also drive enterprises to accelerate the expansion of diversified overseas markets. Leading construction machinery companies continue to promote overseas localization strategies, and more enterprises actively explore overseas investment and factory construction. In addition, the export of second-hand construction machinery has gradually developed into a new growth point, expanding new business models for China's construction machinery to go global.
Overall, despite the fluctuations in the global economic situation and trade environment, China's construction machinery exports are expected to maintain a steady growth trend. With continuous cultivation in emerging markets and steady improvement in product technology strength, China's competitive position in the global market for construction machinery is expected to be further consolidated by 2025. The annual export value of construction machinery is expected to reach a growth rate of 12%, continuing the good export momentum.
