ANNUAL ECONOMIC
REPORT Dear reader,
M A R C H 2025
Executive Summary CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Welcome to the CECE Annual Economic Report! A very challenging year for construction equipment in Europe – no doubt about that! In terms of economic performance, 2024 saw continued deterioration of all main economic indicators. Indeed, the worrying macroeconomic framework, the contracting GDP in most European countries, a lack of investment in housing and construction all led to a major decline in equipment sales. Overall the commercial performance in 2024 was -19%. In this Report you can access in-depth analysis of the macroeconomic situation in Europe, insights into the major client sectors and a substantial focus on the sales performances of machinery & equipment. This year, we also present updated numbers on the overall turnover of the construction & mining machinery sector – look at the renewed CECE infographic on the last page of the Report. The slightly more positive news is that the business sentiment that we gauge monthly through the CECE Business Barometer has ticked back up a bit at the end of the year, giving the industry reasons for optimism. Sales projections for the first semester of 2025 are now in positive territory for the first time in more than a year and stock levels are going back to normal. It is as usual difficult to make a numerical forecast for 2025, but the Equipment Market chapter in this report will provide some relevant market intelligence for companies and investors to ponder. Please share this report within your network! Indeed, as a publicly available source of information, the CECE Annual Economic Report helps to promote the knowledge and understanding of the sector amongst the wider audience. Comments are always welcome and can be directed to info@cece.eu. We strive to provide CECE members and the public with all relevant information and intelligence, produced by our team of economists. Indeed, this report is produced by a small group of experts from the CECE member associations and the CECE team in Brussels. Please read more about them on page 15. The report also includes information provided by our national member associations, shedding light on the developments within specific markets.
The European construction sector experienced another difficult year in 2024, with overall activity declining by 2.4% across the Eurozone. This downturn followed the slowdown in 2023 that was driven by high construction costs, persistent inflation, and rising interest rates.
MINING INDUSTRY
Global drilling activity showed a pick-up in the last quarter of 2024 after being on a downward trend in earlier quarters. The number of projects and drill holes were above Q2 and Q3 levels, which was a welcome turnaround after Q3 represented a “fifteen quarter” low for drilling activity.
EXTRA FEATURE: RENTAL INDUSTRY
Business sentiment among equipment rental companies in Europe is continuing to decline, albeit with no sign of a collapse. The survey revealed that one in five companies (20%) reported a worsening of business conditions now, although 20% said that conditions are improving, resulting in an even balance of opinion.
EQUIPMENT MARKET
In line with expectations, the European construction equipment market saw a substantial decline of 19% in 2024. This came against the backdrop of ongoing weakness within the building construction industry, fears of recession in many European economies, and a deterioration in geopolitical crises. The decline in activity last year was a lot stronger than the Covid dip in 2020 and represents the biggest decline since the world financial and economic crisis in 2008/09.
OUTLOOK
I hope you will enjoy reading this publication!
Riccardo Viaggi CECE Secretary General March 2025
No.11
The European construction equipment market in 2025 is expected to be flat, with slow recovery due to economic uncertainty. While some sectors show optimism, global markets remain mixed, with growth in certain regions and challenges in others.
CECE ANNUAL ECONOMIC REPORT
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