Machinery and Equipment Growth Concentrates in Exports

Data released by the General Administration of Customs on November 10 provides a reference point for the machinery and equipment sector. In October alone, China‘s electromechanical product exports grew 25.2 percent year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first ten months reached 16.81 trillion yuan, accounting for 64.7 percent of total exports, up 3.9 percentage points from the same period last year . A closer breakdown shows that of the export increment in the first ten months, electromechanical products captured 82.3 percent. More than eight of every ten new export dollars landed in this single category.

This is not an evenly distributed growth. Integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment, industrial robots, and wind power equipment and parts were among the faster-growing categories. Industrial robot exports rose 17.8 percent in the first ten months, and wind power equipment and parts grew 19.7 percent . The increment is concentrated in a few chains, not spread across all categories.

Construction machinery data offers another slice. October excavator sales reached 20,225 units, up 11.8 percent year-on-year, with exports at 10,724 units, up 11.4 percent. Cumulative exports from January to October reached 120,468 units, up 28.4 percent, with the export share reaching 51.37 percent . Exports have surpassed domestic sales to become the industry’s primary source of incremental growth. Loaders show a similar pattern, with a cumulative export share of 50.17 percent and a single-month share of 50.32 percent in October.

Growth is slowing, but the base is rising. October excavator sales growth was about 10 percentage points lower than the cumulative rate for the first ten months. That is a normal pullback from a high base, not a demand reversal.

LiuGong offered a company-level perspective at its Global Dealer Conference held from November 10 to 12. About 2,000 dealers and customers gathered in Liuzhou, where 210 machines were displayed, including 96 new energy models, covering eight application sectors: mining, quarrying, road construction, municipal projects, infrastructure, industrial operations, agriculture and forestry, and oil and gas. Eleven machines demonstrated coordinated operation of electric, autonomous, and remotely controlled equipment across seven scenarios. Chairman Zheng Jin reaffirmed the dual focus on green and intelligent solutions in his opening remarks. In the first half of 2026, LiuGong‘s overseas revenue reached a record high for a half-year period, accounting for more than 50 percent of total revenue. Intent orders signed during the conference also set a new historical high.

Domestic industrial collaboration is advancing in parallel. On November 10, Xu Gong Group Chairman Yang Dongsheng and Shandong Heavy Industry Weichai Group Chairman Wang Zhijian held talks, explicitly agreeing to expand business synergies in mining machinery, excavators, loaders, cranes, road machinery, and new energy . This type of cooperation points toward supply chain coordination and joint development of high-end products, rather than simple capacity stacking.

The overseas landscape is also shifting. In November, Kobelco Construction Machinery signed an agreement to acquire a 70 percent stake in CNH Industrial’s construction equipment business, valuing the unit at $1 billion. CASE, New Holland Construction, and Eurocomach will be folded into a joint venture, combined with Kobelco‘s hydraulic excavators, cranes, and digital construction technology. CNH will retain 30 percent and plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt and focus on agricultural equipment. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2027 . This is a rearrangement of the global construction machinery map. Its direct impact on Chinese companies is limited, but it shows international giants are restructuring through M&A to cope with competitive pressure.

From customs data to LiuGong’s dealer conference to the Kobelco-CNH deal, the current state of the machinery and equipment sector can be summarized this way: the total is growing, but the increment is highly concentrated in electromechanical products, especially export-oriented categories. Construction machinery’s export share has crossed the halfway mark, meaning overseas market fluctuations will transmit to domestic companies‘ financials more quickly. LiuGong and Xu Gong’s moves point in two directions: the former is deepening its global dealer network, the latter is building domestic supply chain synergies. Two paths running in parallel lead to the same conclusion: competition in machinery and equipment is no longer at the single-machine level, but at supply chain efficiency and overseas service capability.