Golden Nine and Silver Ten, construction machinery begins to enter the peak sales season in the second half of the year.
Association data shows that in September this year, both domestic and export sales data of excavators increased by more than 20% year-on-year.
According to statistics from major excavator manufacturers from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, 19,858 excavators of various types were sold in September 2025, a year-on-year increase of 25.4%.
Among them, domestic sales volume was 9,249 units, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%; export volume was 10,609 units, a year-on-year increase of 29%.
From January to September 2025, a total of 174,039 excavators were sold, a year-on-year increase of 18.1%; of which domestic sales were 89,877 units, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%; exports were 84,162 units, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%.
Industry analysts said that the rapid growth of big mining data is mainly due to the large volume of mining machinery and equipment in overseas markets.
According to the excavator data disclosed by the industry association in September, the growth rate of large excavators was relatively high year-on-year, mainly due to the increased demand for mining machinery and equipment in overseas mining.
Other leading OEMs including XCMG Machinery (000425.SZ) believe that, benefiting from the globalization of the industry, industry exports are expected to continue to grow by more than 10% in the second half of the year, and domestic sales will continue to pick up.
Association data also shows that the average monthly working hours of the main products of construction machinery in September 2025 was 78.1 hours (note: it is the average of all categories, of which the working hours of a single type of excavator equipment in September was 62.7 hours), a year-on-year decrease of 13.3%; the monthly operating rate of the main products of construction machinery in September 2025 was 55.2%.
Some industry analysts said that the decline in operating hours of excavators in September means that domestic demand is still soft, but the sales data of excavators are still good, which means that the country has indeed reached a very bottom position. Combined with the low base effect and the export consumption stock of second-hand equipment, a little update and replacement demand can drive the growth of the industry.
From the perspective of overseas regional markets, in resource-rich areas such as Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, exploration and development projects for new energy minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel have been intensively implemented. This structural demand gap has directly spawned an investment boom in overseas mine development.
Local mining companies need heavy equipment such as large-tonnage excavators and electric-wheel mining trucks to improve mining efficiency.
Demand for battery metals lithium, graphite, nickel, and manganese alone will soar from about 3 million tons in 2025 to 12 million tons in 2035. Copper will also need an additional 900,000 tons of production capacity to meet the needs of the development of electric vehicles and renewable new energy technologies.
In recent years, the digital intelligence upgrade of my country’s construction machinery industry has not only improved construction safety, but also improved construction efficiency and quality, and reduced construction energy consumption.
For example, XCMG and Australia’s Ford River Group held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation agreement on green mining equipment solutions. XCMG will provide Ford River Group with 150 to 200 240-ton pure electric mining trucks from 2028 to 2030. The order will meet nearly half of the demand for Ford River Group’s 240-ton pure electric mining truck fleet, serving iron ore mining and the 2030 decarbonization goals.
This is the largest green mining machinery export order signed by my country so far.
In the field of mining machinery, Zoomlion (000157.SZ) has signed annual purchase agreements and established strategic partnerships with a number of leading customers. More than 100 100-ton hybrid wide-body vehicles have been delivered domestically, and high-performance electric transmission dump trucks (electric wheels) have been exported overseas in batches.
Relevant people from Zoomlion said that the company is continuously increasing its investment in the global market and tilting most of its resources overseas.
Sany Heavy Industry (600031.SH) has publicly stated that since 2025, the construction machinery industry will usher in a new wave of growth, including the release of policy dividends, the start of the update cycle, the acceleration of technological revolution and other factors.
LiuGong (000528.SZ)’s publicly disclosed survey minutes show that the company’s sales of earth-moving machinery and other major products in the third quarter maintained a level higher than the industry growth rate. Domestic and overseas revenue is expected to continue the growth trend in the first half of the year, especially international profits that exceeded the budget target.
The company stated that it is confident to achieve its full-year operating income target of 34.6 billion yuan and steady performance growth.
People from the securities departments of many main engine manufacturers said that the domestic recovery trend of construction machinery has been basically determined, and has expanded from excavators to concrete, cranes and other sectors.
Not only for mining equipment, increasing the share of series products in overseas markets is still the highlight of future business growth.
