The French earthmoving equipment market

Sales of earthmoving equipment in France grew by 2% in 2018 compared to 2017. The French market is still increasing but at a slower pace.

At some 22,040 machines sold, 2018 will stand as the best year since the market crash in 2008. Equipment sales within the French market have been relatively strong. The French earthmoving equipment market remain the third biggest market in Europe.

For a part, growth in equipment sales for 2018 have been driven by wheel loaders, which were 11% higher than in 2017. This is mainly due to the sharp increase in sales to rental companies (+91%).

The wheel excavator market is doing well. With almost 1900 units, sales of wheel excavator machines increased by 4% this year after +31% in 2017. The French wheel excavator market stands at the level reached in 2005-2006. France is the second biggest market in Europe for wheel excavators after Germany.

The crawler excavator market >6t continued to improve (+3%) while mini excavator sales, which remain the most popular product, decreased slightly (-2%). The decrease is explained by the 15% decline in sales to renters. The mini excavator market is close to the historical record levels.

In 2019, the building market should decrease by -0.5%. However, the number of residential and non-residential construction will remain at a high level. Above all, the growth of the civil engineering sector should remain high thanks to the investments of local authorities, the significant spending regarding the Grand Paris Express project, the French motorway plan (launched in 2015-to be continued), the IT infrastructure plan (high speed networks), the renovation of Rail network etc.

Cisma forecasts a flat market in 2019.