Wheeled loaders have edged ahead of telehandlers (for the construction industry) to show the strongest growth in Q1 sales at just under 40%. Contrastingly, road rollers have experienced the weakest start to the year, showing nearly 40% lower sales than last year's first quarter.
The most popular equipment type in the UK, mini/midi excavators (up to 10 tonnes), showed a small shortfall in sales last year, with sales in Q1 at just under 4% below 2021 levels.
The pattern of sales on a regional basis in the UK and N Ireland shows higher sales levels in most regions, with the North East, Yorkshire and Scotland being the strongest, with sales at 20% to 30% up on last year. Three regions showed lower sales than 2021, with the East of England being the weakest at over 17% down on Q1 sales last year.
Systematics International's construction equipment statistics exchange also reports equipment sales in the Republic of Ireland. Sales in March fell back again, showing a 13% reduction on 2021 levels. This resulted in sales falling short of levels last year in the first quarter, at 1.5% below 2021 levels in Q1.
* Systematics International Ltd runs the construction equipment statistics exchange. This scheme is run in partnership with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA), the UK trade association
