The New Player in the Block

Construction is a vital segment of infrastructure and here is the role of construction machinery to contribute to this well‑planned development drive of the govern‑ ment. From the other side, a large and well‑structured construction machin‑ ery market is required to develop dif‑ ferent modes of infrastructure to build a strong base for rapid and sustained economic growth.

Construction machinery comprises of heavy machinery that performs specific construction or demolition func‑ tions. Such equipment are transport‑ able, semi‑permanent, or permanent and are primarily used for earthmov‑ ing, lifting containers or materials, drill‑ ing holes in the earth or rock and also for paving applications. These machin‑ eries are widely used in different areas of infrastructures like roads, airports, sea‑ports, commercial, residential and industrial buildings and factories among others.

Global Market Scenario

The global construction equipment market is estimated at USD 149.7 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 194.7 billion by 2030, with an estimated CAGR of 3.8%. Asia remains the key market for construction machinery at present, but markets in North America and Europe are still quite large with substantial demand.

Country‑wise, US, China and India are among the larg‑ est markets and growth in these markets is driven by ris‑ ing importance of infrastructure in government policy. In fact, growth of construction industry is usually driven by increasing urbanization, advance of technology, the need to modernize infrastructure, and focus on developing green projects that are rather sustainable. Major de‑ veloped and emerging economies of the world has adopted concrete plans to develop different areas of infrastructure and a lot of mega projects are in the pipeline across the globe involving trillions of dol‑ lars. The global construction ma‑ chinery market therefore is all set to witness rapid growth in order to complement the infrastructure de‑ velopment plans of governments worldwide. However, restriction in export‑import laws and protection‑ ary measures by the developed re‑ gions may limit the growth of this vital sector.

Indian Construction Machinery Market

India is the third largest construction equipment market of the world and is valued at USD 7.3 billion in 2023.

The industry experienced a complete pendulum swing in the past two years. Degrowth of 8% in FY22, in the wake of the pandemic andits effect on global economies wasfollowed by the industry’s highest ever growth of 26% in FY23 as the Indian econ‑ omybounced back with resilience andthe government put in place massiveinfrastructure projects to driveeconomic growth in the coun‑ try. Growth of construction equip‑ ment market in India is reflected by the fact provided by Indian Con‑ struction Equipment Manufacturing Association (ICEMA) that sales of construction equipment more than doubled to 107,000 units in 2022‑ 23 from 50,000 units in 2013‑14.

In India, construction Equipment Market is Segmented by Equipment Type and Drive type. The equipment type is comprised of Earthmoving and Road Construction Equipment, Material Handling Equipment, Con‑ crete Equipment, and Material Pro‑ cessing Equipment while the Drive Type include Hydraulic and Elec‑ tric/Hybrid.

Major Drivers of the Market Growth

• It would be a reiteration to say that improvement in road construction infrastructure, increas‑ ing urbanization rate, and higher investment to boost infrastruc‑ ture activities serve as the major determinants for the growth of construction equipment in India.However, this is the only way a construction machinery market can grow and shape up as a well‑developed and structured market leading to the growth of exports also. Shift of population to urban areas, need for rapid in‑ dustrialization, the government’s investment in developing an effi‑ cient road connectivity infrastruc‑ ture are among the measures that are not only attributed to the growth of construction sector as well as construction machinery market but also ensure sustain‑ ability of the same.

• During the last budget 2023‑24, the capital investment outlay for infrastructure was increased by 33% to USD 122 billion. Further, the budget also paved the way for more private investment in infrastructure, including railways, roads, urban infrastructure, and power.
• Massive push of the Indian government to attract foreign and private domestic investments for the infrastructure sector will pos‑ itively fuel the demand for con‑ struction equipment in the com‑ ing years.

• In the years to come, there would be a shifting preferences of busi‑ nesses to promote the use of eco‑friendly products, coupled with the increasing push by the government to combat carbon emissions. This will propel the electric/hybrid construction equipment segment of the mar‑ ket, which is expected to record a massive surge in the coming years.
• Several projects and programmes undertaken by the government such as Ujwal Discoms Assurance Yojana (UDAY), Smart City Mis‑ sion, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yoja‑ na, Gati Shakti Master Plan, and Bharstmala project propels the market’s growth. These programs and projects envisaged are antici‑ pated to fuel the demand and us‑ age of construction equipment in India.

Trade of Construction Machineries

Global exports of Construction Machinery

Table 1: Exports of Construction Machinery by top 10 Global Suppliers

Source: ITC Trade Map

Global export scenario:

China is the topmost global supplier of Construction Machinery at pres‑ ent with more than one‑fifth share in total global exports. Germany and USA are the immediate follow‑ ers with 10.4% and 8.1% shares re‑ spectively. Top 10 global exporters together supplies around 70% of global demand of Construction Ma‑ chinery.

India’s position on global stage improved:

India’s global exports increased by 53.43% from USD 2.42 billion in 2018 to USD 3.71 billion in 2022.India’s share in global import in‑ creased from 1.14% in 2018 to 1.54% in 2022 while its rank as a global ex‑ porterselevated to 14 in 2022 from 21 in 2018. At present, India supplies 1.54% of global demand.

Global imports of Construction Machinery

Table 2: Imports of Construction Machinery by top 10 Global importers

Source: ITC Trade Map

USA, Germany and Canada are the top three global importers of Construction Machinery with shares of 16.5%, 5.3% and 5.0% in global imports as on 2022. India is the 13th in this table demanding 1.85% of global consumption.

India’s exports of construction machineries during the last five fiscal years

Fig 1: Exports of Construction Machinery from India (USD Billion)

Gradual growth observed:

India’s exports of construc‑ tion machinery has been witnessing a gradual rise barring the pandemic years.Shipment rose from USD 2.41 billion in 2018‑19 to an all‑time high of USD 3.73 bil‑ lion in 2022‑29 with a CAGR of 9.11%. The current fiscal seems to see another year of record high exports of con‑ struction machinery from India as exports in 2023‑24 during April‑November was 23.5% higher than that of the same period last fiscal.

North America and EU are largest consumers:

Just like overall engineer‑ ing exports, North America and EU are the largest ex‑ port destinations for India’ construction machinery with combined share of 36% in India’s global exports of the same. Sub‑Saharan Africa, South Asia and ASEAN are also having their respective shares in double digit as on 2022.

Data Source: ITC Trade Map

Product-wise exports of Construction Machinery products from India

Table 3: Top exported products of Construction Machinery from India

Table 3: Top exported products of Construction Machinery from India

Source: DGCIS, DoC

Top exported products include products with global exports of USD 50 million or higher during 2022‑23. Combined exports of all these products comprises more than 75% in India’s global exports of Construction Machinery.

Top Export Destinations for India’s Construction Machinery

Table 4: Top ten importers of India’s Construction Machinery

Source: ITC Trade Map

One-fifth of India's shipment of Construction Machinery goes to USA as the numero-uno consumer of the same. Exports to USA also more than doubled between 2018 and 2022 with a CAGR of 17.1%. UK and Germany are the immediate follower but with much less shares of 6.8% and 4.0% respectively as on 2022. Top 10 importers taken together share more than half of India's global exports of Construction Machinery. Another good news to notice is that India's exports to all its top 10 importers increased over the last five years barring Nepal.

India’s position in Global Imports of its Top Five Importers

Table 5: India’s position in top 5 export destinations of construction machinery

Source: ITC Trade Map

Among India’s top five importers of construction machinery, India is the topmost supplier to Nepal and fourth and fifth largest suppliers for South Africa and UAE respectively. However, substantial export potential exists in USA and UK.

Government Initiatives

• The National Master Plan ‘Gati Shakti’, a scheme of over INR 100 lakh crores launched by the Hon‑ ourable Prime Minister of India focused on holistic and integrat‑ ed infrastructure development.This is a significant step of the Government towards achieving the vision of making India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.
• Comprehensive strategy has been adopted for development of roads with 100% FDI being al‑ lowed in the road sector. Given that roads and other infrastruc‑ ture are major user segments of construction equipment, this move is expected to augur well for the Indian CE industry.
• The government is on track in rolling out the National Infra‑ structure Pipeline with a planned investment of about INR 111 lakh crores on the world‑class infra‑ structure. The Government’s focus is on time‑bound, qualitative, cost‑effective and sustainable in‑ frastructure development in the country.
• Government of India plans to develop terminals at major ports.The Ministry of Shipping in con‑ sultation with the state maritime boards and major port author‑ ities will execute the contracts.Cruise tourism is expected to gain some traction as the Union government plans to develop ter‑ minals at major ports to facilitate tourism activity. This will be pos‑ itive for construction machinery sector.

Outlook: Vision 2030

Indian construction machinery mar‑ ket is expected to reach USD 10.9 billion by 2028, projecting a CAGR of 8.3% during 2023 ‑ 2028.The Indian construction machinery in‑ dustry currently holds a prominent position in the global landscape ‑ it is the third largest market after Chi‑ na and USA. A sharply prioritized action‑set can further improve and consolidate Indian construction ma‑ chinery industry’s global position.Enhancement of mechanization levels in infrastructure, construction and mining are imminent, if Indi‑ an industry and economy were to achieve its stated aspirations. This promises significant opportunity for Indian construction machinery in‑ dustry. Initiatives and actions will be required across 3 priority themes –

1. Sustained demand creation
2. Robust operating ecosystem
3. Stable foundation – technology and skilling

Through Vision 2030, Indian con‑ struction machinery industry has set itself an aspirational goal to be‑ come

• 2nd largest construction machinery market worldwide
• Fastest growing construction machinery market in the world
• Manufacturing and export hub of the world for construction ma‑ chinery

EEPC India has an exclusive Con‑ struction Machinery Product Panel and it participates in International Exhibitions to promote the export of this product abroad. This year it is participating at Africa Build 2026 in July and Saudi Build 2026 in No‑ vember.

28 l INDIAN ENGINEERING EXPORTS l JULY 2026