Exports of construction equipment made in the United States decreased 24 percent overall at midyear 2016 compared to the first half of 2015, with a total of $5.65 billion shipped to global markets, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), citing U.S. Department of Commerce data.
Europe was the sole region with a gain, up 2 percent, and South America and Africa led the double-digit declines, according to AEM.
“For the past 14 quarters, U.S. exports of construction equipment have declined year over year,” says Benjamin Duyck, director of market intelligence at AEM. “At the midpoint in 2016, that trend remains unchanged. With the global economic malaise, the slowdown in emerging markets and the negative interest rates in several economies’ bond markets, investment is flowing to the U.S. and U.S. stocks, driving up demand for the U.S. dollar, inadvertently affecting our competitiveness abroad.”
U.S. construction equipment exports increased 2 percent in Europe, while exports fell in all other major world regions. According to AEM, exports declined the most in South America and Africa at 49 and 43 percent, respectively.