Skip to main content

French earthmoving market remains strong in Q1 2019

The French market for earthmoving equipment remained very strong in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data compiled by CISMA. Q1 sales rose 12% compared to the same quarter 2018 with that for compact equipment up by 14%. CISMA - the French trade association - noted that this performance is mostly due to the strength of sales to rental companies (+32%) and the good performance of non-rental sales. Sales of crawler excavators are up by 11%. Sales of wheeled loaders grew by 23% t
May 7, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The French market for earthmoving equipment remained very strong in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data compiled by CISMA.

Q1 sales rose 12% compared to the same quarter 2018 with that for compact equipment up by 14%.

CISMA - the French trade association - noted that this performance is mostly due to the strength of sales to rental companies (+32%) and the good performance of non-rental sales.

Sales of crawler excavators are up by 11%. Sales of wheeled loaders grew by 23% this quarter compared to the same period last year.

The recovery of the heavy earthmoving equipment sector is continuing, a trend which began in 2015. Sales are up by 7%.

However, sales of crawler excavators remain weak – up by 1% only. Nonetheless, wheeled excavators are up 21%.

The Q1 results follows a 2018 full-year report that saw French excavator market rise by only 1% over 2017. But 2017 sales were up 23% over 2016. Last year sales of wheeled excavators increased by 31% while mini excavator sales decreased by 1%.

Sales of crawler excavators were up 4% but the wheeled excavator market increased by 9%.

With 17,600 units sold last year - both wheel and crawler excavators - France remains the third biggest market in Europe with 16.5% of market share. It is the seventh largest market in the world.

CISMA is a Paris-based trade association for companies in France that produce and sell equipment for construction as well as the steel industry and handling sector. It also includes component suppliers. CISMA represents the interests of its 200 members - SME, SMI and subsidiaries of international groups - that employ around 31, 000 people in France. These businesses export 58% of their production and generate nearly €9 billion in annual revenue.

Related Content

  • Mini crawler excavators remain popular in France
    July 2, 2019
    Sales of mini crawler excavator accounted for 51% of total earthmoving machines sold in France in 2018. Before 2015, mini excavators represented less than 50% of total earthmoving equipment sales. But the market share has risen gradually since then to 51% in 2016 and 52% in 2017, making them the biggest selling machines within France’s construction equipment sector, according to industry, according to a new report by CISMA, a Paris-based trade association for companies in France that produce and sell equ
  • French earthmoving market on firm ground, reports CISMA
    February 15, 2019
    The French earthmoving equipment market increased by more than 3% last year - the best year since the market crash of 2008. Heavy earthmoving equipment is up 8.6% to 5,100 machines, according to data compiled by CISMA, a member of France’s Federation of Mechanical Engineering Industries (FIM). However, the increase is much lower for compact equipment, just 2% over in 2018 over 2017. Sales reached 17,250 machines in France, Europe’s third largest market for such equipment. For crawler excavators, th
  • Construction machine sales strengthening in Italy
    November 28, 2016
    Construction machine sales are strengthening around the globe. A report from the SaMoTer-Veronafiere Outlook reveals that 7,551 construction machines were sold in Italy over the period from January-September 2016. This represents a gain of 32% from the same period in 2015 and a further increase of 37% is estimated in Italy for the two-year period 2017-2018. Worldwide the first nine months of 2016 saw sales around the world of 496,500 earth moving machines, a drop of around 5,000 less (1%) compared to th
  • Earthmoving machine sales improved
    April 2, 2019
    have increased since the second half of 2017. In particular, in Germany and France the main constraint is a shortage of labour, while in Spain or the United Kingdom the main brake is demand. Sustained dynamics for investments in Central Eastern Europe, with the exception of the construction market in Turkey, going decidedly against the trend compared to 2017. Overall, however, the implementation of EU funds during the 2014-2020 programming cycle has supported construction, particularly civil engineering.