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China’s excavator sales rose 3.4% in July from a year earlier to reach 17,939 units, returning to growth for the first time since May 2021, compared to the 10.1% drop in June, according to the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), citing sales data from the country’s 26 major excavator makers.
Domestic sales of excavators declined by 24.9% in July, but improved significantly from a 35% drop in June, and exports jumped 72.8% in July, showed the data.
In the period of January – July, excavator sales fell 33.2% year over year to 161,033 units, with domestic sales sliding 51.3% on year to 100,374 units and overseas sales surging 72.3% to 60,659 units, showed the data. That marks the 19th month with year-on-year growth above 50% and 61st straight month with positive growth.
Deemed a barometer of the vitality of infrastructure development, sales of excavators are usually supported by growth in mining and infrastructure construction.
According to industry consultancy Mysteel, a total of 5,669 projects were started across the country in July, a month-on-month increase of 19.5%. Total investment reached 3.483 trillion yuan ($517.04 billion), a month-on-month increase of 12.1% and a year-on-year increase of 26.2%.
Progress has been made on some key infrastructure facilities. Work on a project linking China’s two mega water infrastructures – the Three Gorges project and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project – started on July 7, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The project is scheduled to be completed in nine years, and it will transfer water to the country’s dry north.