Retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment remained on an upward path in June, continuing the trend established in May. Sales in June were close to 2,800 units, but this was still 22% below levels in the same period in 2023.
As a result, sales in Q2 reached over 7,500 units compared with only 6,400 in Q1. However, sales in the second quarter were still 25% below the level reached in Q2 last year, when sales were very high in the first half of the year. To emphasise this, sales in the first half of 2024 were 30% below 2023 levels.
Telehandlers (for construction) (-19%) were the best-performing product, ahead of wheeled loaders (-22%), with both showing the lowest falls in sales in the first half of the year. Road rollers continue to be the weakest performing product, with sales this year remaining at 62% below levels seen in the first half of last year.
Despite modest improvements in sales, all regions continue to see declining sales compared with last year. Similar to last month, London has been the best-performing region so far this year, with sales at 15% below 2023 levels. The West Midlands has continued to see the weakest sales, which were just under 50% below last year’s levels in the first half of the year, followed by Northern Ireland, where sales were just under 46% below 2023 levels.
