The construction equipment market growth between 2021 and 2030 will be primarily driven by rapid urbanization around the world. The accelerating urbanization rate will increase the demand for housing projects and propel investments in infrastructure development. In recent years, the surging use of electric and fully autonomous equipment has become a key market trend. Usage of autonomous equipment increases the productivity of the construction sector, offers higher worker safety on site, and addresses the problem of skilled labor shortage.
The accelerating urbanization rate is one of the key growth drivers of the construction equipment market. The World Bank Group states that around 55% of the global population currently lives in cities. It is also estimated that the global urban population grew from 4.28 billion in 2019 to 4.358 billion in 2020. The organization also forecasts that nearly 7 out of 10 people in the world will reside in urban areas, by 2050. The population growth in urban localities will result in the wide-scale construction of housing, industrial, and commercial structures, owing to which construction equipment demand will increase considerably.
According to P&S Intelligence, within the product segment, the earth-moving machinery category is expected to account for the largest share in the construction equipment industry throughout this decade. The dominance of this category can be attributed to the improved grip offered by this construction equipment on snow and in the mud. The surging use of this machinery in the construction sector is also credited to its wide application bases, such as trench digging, demolition of structures, soil grading, laying foundations, and removing rocks and dirt.
At present, the construction equipment industry is consolidated in nature, due to the presence of a few key players, such as Deere & Company, Volvo Construction Equipment, Caterpillar Inc., Doosan Infracore, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., Liebherr AG, Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Ltd., Terex Corporation, and Liebherr AG. Currently, these players are actively introducing new products to gain a competitive edge. For example, in April 2019, Volvo Construction Equipment announced its plan to introduce compact excavators (EC15 to EC27), and an electrically propelled range of wheel loaders (L20 to L28).
Likewise, in March 2020, Komatsu launched a new electric mini excavator, namely PC30E-5, in Japan to target the rental sector. This product delivers similar excavation performance, as compared to internal combustion models with similar power output while reducing vehicle noise and emitting no exhaust. In contemporary times, major players are focusing on launching autonomous equipment. For instance, D61i-24 and D51i-24 dozers of Komatsu Ltd. can record terrain data while maneuvering the site. This data helps make calculated decisions about materials used.
Geographically, the APAC construction equipment market will generate the highest revenue in the foreseeable future. As construction projects are the backbone of economic development, a boom in the construction sector is a key contributor to the market growth in the region. Moreover, the growth of the sector in APAC is driven by the mounting investments being made by governments in construction activities. Additionally, the rapid urbanization in China, South Korea, India, and Japan will also drive the demand for construction equipment in these countries.
Thus, the market growth during this decade will be driven by the booming urban population.