Despite five years of market woes and struggles, it is expected that the market for on-site machinery such as bulldozers, diggers and dump trucks is expected to see a resurgence next year, signalling a potential change in the fortune for the manufacturers of such products. The predictions come from Off-Highway Research, a leading consultancy operating within the construction sector.

Over the most recent years, the industry has been somewhat devastated by uncertain economic climate, with a marked decline in demand noted as far back as 2012. Most notably, China’s slowed growth has also played a core role in the slowing of the industry’s own success also, with the construction and mining industries maintaining an inevitable tie to the success of China’s core industries. Additionally, reportedly low levels of growth and interest in much of the global construction market also hindered the success of the sector, with meaningful rises in demand only being seen in areas such as India.

The primary factor to which Off-Highway attributes the predicted growth can be seen as the increased need for organisations to replace much of their aged construction plant and procure new, modern machinery to support the modern demands of the sector. In accordance with this, Off-Highway expects a 5% increase in sales for next year, which will see the industry gain some ground once more, despite having reportedly downsized by almost 25% since 2011.

Of course as the global construction market pulls itself out of the recessionary period, so too is the plant and equipment sector also expected to see a resurgence; not just yet, however. With Companies now reportedly far more cautious and lacking confidence in the present, marginally more optimistic market conditions, progress is expected to be slow. Yet, despite this, the predictions made for next year do indeed highlight a long-awaited potential for growth.