Shen Wan Hongyuan: Domestic and foreign sales of excavators were strong in November, optimistic about opportunities in the construction machinery sector
The Zhitong Finance App learned that Shen Wan Hongyuan released a research report saying that according to statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association on major excavator manufacturers, 2,027 excavators of various types were sold in November 2025, an increase of 13.9% over the previous year. Its sales volume in China was 9842 units, up 9.11% year on year; export volume was 10,185 units, up 18.8% year on year. In terms of domestic demand, domestic sales are expected to be close to 120,000 units this year, but there is still great potential for growth compared to domestic sales of 290,000 units in 20 years. In terms of exports, the monthly sales volume once again exceeded 10,000 in November, and exports for the whole year are expected to exceed 110,000 units, or a record high. Furthermore, according to the authoritative agency Off-HighwayResearch, global construction machinery fell 2% in 2025 and ushered in positive growth in 2026.
Shen Wan Hongyuan's main views are as follows:
Incident: According to statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association on major excavator manufacturers, 20027 excavators of various types were sold in November 2025, an increase of 13.9% over the previous year. Its sales volume in China was 9842 units, up 9.11% year on year; export volume was 10,185 units, up 18.8% year on year. From January to November 2025, a total of 212,162 excavators were sold, up 16.7% year on year; it sold 108,187 units in China, up 18.6% year on year; exported 10,3975 units, up 14.9% year on year. In November 2025, 19 electric excavators were sold (5 units below 6-ton, 2 6-10-ton, 1 10-18.5-ton, and 11 units of 18.5 to 28.5 tons).
In November, domestic and export of excavators were booming, and the industry progressed upward
1) Domestic: Excavator sales have continued to improve since the year-on-year growth rate changed in March '24. Domestic sales are expected to be close to 120,000 units this year, but there is still great potential for growth compared to domestic sales of 290,000 units in 20 years; 2) Exports: In November, monthly sales once again exceeded 10,000 units, and annual exports are expected to exceed 110,000 units, or a record high.
Construction time and operating rate data show that domestic construction intensity is still weak
According to statistics from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association, the average monthly working time of major construction machinery products in November 2025 was 84.2 hours, a year-on-year decrease of 13% and a month-on-month increase of 4.08%. The monthly operating rate of major construction machinery products in November was 56.5%, down 12.1 percentage points year on year and 1.5 percentage points month on month. As can be seen, the construction intensity in terms of the project is not optimistic.
Domestic demand: Infrastructure investment is relatively stable, and new real estate construction is expected to bottom out
Infrastructure: According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, national infrastructure investment (excluding electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply) fell 0.1% year-on-year from January to October. Among them, investment in pipeline transportation increased by 13.8%, investment in water transport increased by 9.4%, and investment in railway transportation increased by 3.0%. Infrastructure investment showed a relative boom in the transportation industry in terms of an overall stable structure.
Real estate: According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, real estate fixed asset investment in January-October was 7.36 trillion yuan, with a cumulative year-on-year decline of 14.7%, and the cumulative year-on-year decline of new housing construction area reached 491 million square meters; however, judging from the construction situation of existing projects, demand may be bottoming out. In November, the utilization rate of Pangyuan Tower crane tonnage was 56.8%, up 1.70 pcts year on year, up 1.60 pct from month to month, showing a recovery in real estate construction demand.
Exports: Interest rate cut cycles compounded by the mining boom to support the rise in overseas construction machinery capital expenditure
According to the forecast of the authoritative agency Off-HighwayResearch, global construction machinery will decline by 2% in 2025, and will usher in positive growth in 2026. Looking at the downstream scenario of overseas markets, it is expected that mining and infrastructure will still be the main source of demand. Along with the interest rate cut cycle and mineral prices remaining high, the size of the overseas construction machinery market may expand further.
Investment advice
Domestic and foreign sales are expected to resonate in '26, and we are optimistic about opportunities in the construction machinery sector. OEMs focus on: Sany Heavy Industries (600031.SH), Xugong Machinery (000425.SZ), Zhonglian Heavy Industries (01157), Liugong (000528.SZ), Shantui (000680.SZ), etc. The parts focus on: Hengli Hydraulic (601100.SH), Eddy Precision (603638.SH), Foster (301446.SZ), Weiwan Seals (301161.SZ), etc.
Risk Alerts
The risk of macroeconomic fluctuations, the risk of increased competition in the industry, etc.