Excavator Market in the First Half of 2026

In the first half of 2026, the Chinese excavator market delivered an unexpected performance. According to the latest data released by the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, a total of 152320 mining machinery products were sold from January to June, with a year-on-year increase of 26.4%. This number not only marks the industry's return to a growth channel after experiencing a period of adjustment, but also reflects a profound structural shift in market driving forces.

From the monthly trend, the excavator market showed a clear upward curve in the first half of the year. In the first month of the new year, we had a good start with sales of 18708 units in January, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%, setting a record for the highest growth rate in recent years. Affected by the Spring Festival holiday, sales in February fell to 17226 units month on month, a year-on-year decrease of 10.6%. However, this fluctuation is more of a seasonal disturbance in statistical caliber and has not changed the overall recovery tone.

The domestic market is an important cornerstone of growth in the first half of the year. From January to June 2026, a total of 79025 excavators were sold in the domestic market, a year-on-year increase of 20.4%. On a monthly basis, the volatility of the domestic market is significantly greater than the overall market. In January, it surged 61.4% year-on-year, but in February, it fell 42% year-on-year due to the influence of the Spring Festival. In March, it quickly rebounded to 24101 units, a year-on-year increase of 23.5%. In the following three months, it continued to maintain a growth rate of over 30% - an increase of 34.9% in April, 38.6% in May, and 33.9% in June.

Of particular note is the June data, with exports of 14547 units in a single month, setting a new high for exports in the first half of the year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 36.4%. This performance breaks the inertia of quarterly slowdown in export growth in the past, indicating that the penetration rate of Chinese excavators in overseas markets is still continuously increasing. In the markets along the "the Belt and Road", Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and other regions, Chinese brands are constantly expanding their market share by virtue of product cost performance ratio, rapid iteration ability and perfect service network. The strong growth of exports not only provides a second growth curve for the industry, but also effectively offsets the cyclical fluctuations in the domestic market.