Infrastructure construction in Belt and Road countries is heating up, leading to a surge in overseas orders for Chinese-made tracked excavators.
In July, my country’s tracked excavator exports reached US$911.1628 million, a year-on-year increase of 33.54%, with an export volume of 28,998 units, a year-on-year increase of 34.61%.
The cumulative export value for the first seven months reached US$5611.1743 million, a year-on-year increase of 24.42%. This data marks a new peak in the growth of China’s tracked excavator exports.
01 Export Scale Soars
Customs data shows that from January to July 2025, China’s cumulative export value of tracked excavators exceeded US$5.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.42%, with a cumulative export volume of 166,585 units, a year-on-year increase of 31.04%.
This growth trend has continued to be evident in each month of this year. In May, the export value of tracked excavators reached US$848.8215 million, a year-on-year increase of 24.07%.
China’s crawler excavator exports reached US$850.6839 million in June, a year-on-year increase of 24.36%.
Looking at overall construction machinery exports, excavator exports (including crawler and wheeled excavators) totaled US$4.893 billion from January to June, a year-on-year increase of 23.10%, maintaining rapid growth momentum.
02 Global Market Layout In terms of export destinations, China’s crawler excavator global market layout is becoming increasingly diversified. In July 2025, the top ten countries/regions in terms of export value were Indonesia, Belgium, Guinea, Russia, the United States, Mali, the Philippines, Turkey, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Netherlands.
These countries collectively accounted for 46.95% of China’s total crawler excavator exports.
Indonesia continues to maintain its position as China’s largest export market for crawler excavators. In July alone, China exported crawler excavators to Indonesia worth US$92.5159 million, accounting for 10.15% of total exports.
From January to July, cumulative exports to Indonesia reached US$559.1549 million, accounting for 9.97% of total exports.
Countries along the Belt and Road Initiative performed particularly well. In the first four months, Fujian Province’s exports of tracked excavators to Belt and Road countries increased by 33.5% year-on-year, accounting for 79.8% of Fujian Province’s total tracked excavator exports during the same period.
North Africa, South Asia, and West Asia saw strong infrastructure demand, becoming important growth drivers.
03 West African Market Emerges as a Dark Horse
It is worth noting that West African countries are rapidly rising in China’s tracked excavator export landscape. From January to June, China’s cumulative excavator exports to Guinea reached US$191.2712 million, a 170.31% increase compared to the same period last year.
Exports to Mali performed even more impressively, with cumulative exports reaching US$164.1325 million, a 385.51% year-on-year increase.
Among other West African countries, cumulative exports to Ghana reached US$97.0507 million, and cumulative exports to Côte d’Ivoire reached US$73.0474 million, both showing significant growth.
These figures indicate that West Africa is becoming an emerging market for Chinese construction machinery exports.
Meanwhile, traditional markets in Europe and the United States are also showing signs of recovery. In June, China’s exports of crawler excavators to the US rebounded from a low of US$14.4151 million in May to US$33.2698 million, a month-on-month increase of 130.80%.
Among EU countries, the German market showed the strongest growth, with Fujian Province’s exports of crawler excavators to Germany increasing 32.1 times year-on-year in the first four months.
04 Industry Dynamics and Future Trends China’s construction machinery industry has actively responded to changes in domestic and international markets, closely grasped the industry’s development direction, and achieved a number of technological innovations.
The successful development of high-end equipment such as large excavators has facilitated participation in major domestic and international engineering projects.
The capacity utilization rate of key enterprises is approaching its limit. Taking a leading enterprise in Changsha, Hunan Province, as an example, its production line can produce one excavator every 6 minutes on average, with a daily output exceeding 100 units.
Currently, the industry is experiencing a supply shortage, with some companies’ annual output already far exceeding their total output in 2024.
The product structure is also continuously being optimized. In 2025, the export growth rate of medium and large excavators significantly exceeded the industry average, mainly benefiting from the expansion of overseas mining development and infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, exports of small excavators also increased due to the recovery in demand in European and American markets, forming a pattern of simultaneous growth across the entire product range. China’s large tracked excavators are reaching every corner of the world at an unprecedented speed and with unprecedented breadth.
