Against the backdrop of a steady recovery in the global infrastructure market and continued release of overseas demand, China's construction machinery foreign trade sector maintained a high-quality development trend in 2026. The scale of import and export trade steadily expanded, export growth momentum remained strong, and the import structure continued to optimize, further highlighting the industry's resilience and international market competitiveness. According to the latest customs statistics, core import and export data for my country's construction machinery sector improved across the board in May and from January to May 2026, with exports achieving significant growth, becoming the core driving force for the industry's foreign trade growth and laying a solid foundation for domestic construction machinery companies to deepen their presence in the global market and expand their overseas footprint.
Looking at the monthly market performance, my country's construction machinery foreign trade market delivered an impressive performance in May 2026. The total import and export trade volume of construction machinery in that month reached US$6.265 billion, a significant increase of 19.6% compared to the same period last year. The high monthly trade growth rate demonstrates the strong demand vitality of Chinese construction machinery products in the global market. With a differentiated development trend in import and export structure, the export market became the main driver of growth, while the import market showed a slight adjustment and steady optimization.
In terms of specific data, the import value of construction machinery in May was US$198 million, a slight decrease of 7.57% year-on-year. This slight decline in imports does not reflect a contraction in industry demand, but rather a direct reflection of the domestic construction machinery industry's transformation towards self-reliance and high-end development. In recent years, the domestic construction machinery industry chain has been continuously improved, and the localization process of core components and high-end complete equipment has accelerated. The technical performance and quality stability of domestically produced products have gradually reached international advanced levels, effectively reducing the domestic market's dependence on imported equipment. The industry's import structure has thus entered a stage of optimization, improving quality and reducing quantity.
In stark contrast to the import market, the construction machinery export market achieved rapid growth in May, with exports reaching US$6.067 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.8%, far exceeding the overall foreign trade growth rate and becoming the core engine of industry growth. The monthly export volume exceeding the US$6 billion mark fully demonstrates the continuous improvement in the international recognition of Chinese construction machinery products, and their steady increase in market share in global infrastructure, mining development, and engineering construction. Whether it's the cost-effectiveness advantage, the intelligent upgrade of products, or the comprehensive after-sales service, domestically produced construction machinery has formed a core competitive advantage in the global market, continuously driving incremental overseas markets.
Even with the switch to RMB pricing, the growth momentum of domestic construction machinery exports remains robust and solid. In May 2026, my country's construction machinery exports, denominated in RMB, reached 41.699 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%. The steady growth of RMB-denominated data effectively avoids the interference of exchange rate fluctuations on industry trade data, more accurately reflecting the positive growth in overseas orders and actual market demand for domestically produced construction machinery, demonstrating the continuously strengthening endogenous driving force of the industry's foreign trade development and the steady improvement in the quality of growth.
Looking at the cumulative data from January to May 2026, the long-term positive development trend of the industry's foreign trade is even clearer, with a significant increase in cumulative trade volume. Data shows that from January to May this year, my country's total import and export trade of construction machinery reached US$28.911 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.5%, a year-on-year growth rate of nearly 20%, marking that the industry's overall foreign trade has entered a high-speed growth channel, with a very impressive start.
The cumulative import data continued its positive trend. From January to May, the import value of construction machinery reached US$1.009 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.44%, consistent with the monthly import trend. This continued reduction in import volume but improvement in quality confirms the sustained breakthroughs in the independent innovation capabilities of China's construction machinery industry. From core components to high-end complete machines, the maturity of the domestic supply chain is constantly improving, and the industry's self-control capabilities are continuously strengthening, driving the industry's import trade to shift from "quantity dependence" to "quality selection," and continuously upgrading the industry's structure.
The cumulative performance on the export side was particularly impressive. From January to May, my country's cumulative exports of construction machinery reached US$27.902 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.8%, continuing the double-digit high-speed growth trend. Cumulative exports accounted for the absolute majority of the overall import and export trade volume, and the trade surplus continued to expand, fully demonstrating China's leading position in global construction machinery exports. In RMB terms, from January to May, the cumulative export value of construction machinery reached RMB 194.005 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17%, showing a steady growth trend and a solid growth foundation.
In summary, since the beginning of 2026, my country's construction machinery foreign trade industry has exhibited a positive development pattern characterized by "optimized and contracted imports, rapid expansion of exports, and overall steady growth." This trend is attributed to multiple favorable factors. On the one hand, infrastructure investment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative continues to grow, and infrastructure demand in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America continues to be released, providing ample room for increased exports of domestically produced construction machinery. On the other hand, domestic construction machinery companies are continuously promoting the intelligent and green upgrading of their products, with the export proportion of high-end products such as new energy equipment and intelligent construction equipment constantly increasing, leading to a continuous improvement in product added value and international competitiveness.
Simultaneously, domestic construction machinery companies are continuously improving their overseas marketing, after-sales, and parts supply systems, and their localized service capabilities are continuously strengthening, effectively addressing service pain points in overseas markets and further enhancing the overseas reputation and market penetration of domestically produced equipment. Coupled with the global recovery cycle in the construction machinery industry, the steady increase in overseas project commencement rates and the continuous release of market demand have jointly driven the industry's export scale to continue to rise.
For construction machinery foreign trade companies, the current overall positive development trend of the industry presents both significant development opportunities and higher requirements for their core competitiveness. Looking ahead, as competition in the global infrastructure market intensifies, the industry's exports will gradually shift from "scale growth" to "quality improvement and structural optimization." Going forward, companies need to continue cultivating niche overseas markets, continuously optimize their product structure, increase investment in the R&D of high-end, intelligent, and green products, improve their overseas localization strategy, and enhance their cross-border service capabilities and brand influence. Simultaneously, leveraging the advantages of a complete domestic industrial chain, they should continue to consolidate their export competitiveness, actively respond to potential risks such as international market fluctuations and trade barriers, and further expand their global market footprint.
Overall, the foreign trade data for construction machinery from January to May 2026 fully demonstrates the industry's strong resilience and vitality. The positive trend of high export growth and continuous structural optimization lays a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the industry's foreign trade throughout the year. In the future, with the continuous improvement of the brand influence of domestic construction machinery and the deepening of overseas market layout, my country's construction machinery foreign trade industry will continue to maintain a steady and progressive development trend, improving quality and efficiency, and continuing to lead the global construction machinery trade market.
Founded in 2010, Hefei King Kangaroo Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. is located in Hefei, capital of China's Anhui Province, and operates heavy trucks and construction machinery, international trade, financial investment and education.
As the largest exporter of heavy trucks and machinery in central China. We have international operations in more than 100 countries and annual sales of more than $100 million.
It is an important export partner of Sinotruk, ZOOMLION, HELI, SEM, Liugong, Shantui, Heli, Lingong, Hangfork, CIMC, Dongfeng, Foton, Xugong, Sany and other world famous brands, Zoomlion, Heli, CAMC, SDLG, HANGCHA and CIMC, And through a stable customer network management of spare parts export of these products at home and abroad to enjoy a good reputation.
