World’s top ten construction OEMs revealed

The latest Yellow Table, International Construction’s annual ranking of the world’s top 50 construction equipment manufacturers by sales figures, has revealed that sales for 2022 were US$230.6 billion, one of the highest figures ever recorded in the listing.

A large reason for this growth is the performance of manufacturers based in the US. OEMs based in the US accounted for over 26% of the total revenue of the Yellow Table, up from 21% in the last listing.

You can view the full Yellow Table in the latest issue of International Construction magazine with in-depth analysis.

The top ten biggest construction equipment manufacturers in the world for 2022 were:

JCB has a wide range of construction equipment. Photo: JCB

10. JCB, UK

JCB enters the top ten for the first time in several years, with strong sales in the OEMs main market of India boosting its bottom line. The OEM is investing heavily into hydrogen technology.

9. Sandvik, Sweden

Another rise up the table for Sandvik – the company was at number ten last year. The company has been making numerous acquisitions, with the OEM making ten acquisitions in 2022, helping to explain their increased ranking.

8. Hitachi, Japan

Hitachi had construction equipment sales of US$9.2 billion, a steady increase from its final results last year. In 2022 the brand saw the ending of its joint venture with John Deere, with Hitachi Chairman Sonny Ishii saying at ConExpo that, “The Americas market is the single most important market, or priority, for Hitachi Construction Machinery.”

7. Liebherr, Germany

Liebherr saw good growth in 2022. In its own report it said that its construction and mining segments – earthmoving, material handling technology, deep foundation machines, mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes, concrete technology and mining equipment – had an average increase in turnover of 6.9%. Liebherr says it is taking a technology-neutral approach to its research, which includes the increased use of hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO), for potential use in construction equipment.

Volvo CE’ EC230. Photo: Volvo CE

6.Volvo Construction Equipment

When adjusted for currency changes, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) had sales of US$9.9 billion keeping it in sixth place. The company is one of the leading OEMs when it comes to electric construction equipment, with one of the largest commercially available ranges including its new 23 ton battery electric excavator. 

5. Sany, China

China-based Sany drop down one place in the table, from number four to number five. The Chinese construction market faced challenges in 2022 following on from two strong years so a general drop in China-based OEMs on the table was expected.

4. John Deere, US

US-based John Deere increased its ranking on the Yellow Table by one place, as it did in the previous Table. The company’s purchase of the Wirtgen Group has been a success and provided the company with access to new markets.

3. XCMG, China

Despite seeing sales fall, XCMG remains the world’s third largest OEM. As is the case with all major Chinese OEMs, the company is actively looking to increase its share of the international market and its most recent results showed record overseas sales. One of their leading executives believes that there is more growth to come in these markets.

2. Komatsu, Japan

Komatsu remains at number two on the list and has extended the gap between it and the rest of the table with sales that, when adjusted for currency, were similar to the last Yellow Table. The OEM recently announced the development of a medium-sized hydraulic excavator concept, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The manufacturer said the machine’s development is in line with its aim to achieve carbon neutrality in construction equipment.

Caterpillar’s 352 hydraulic excavator. (Photo: Caterpillar)

1. Caterpillar, US

Caterpillar retains its traditional position as the world’s biggest construction manufacturer with sales with sales of US$37.5 billion – approximately 16% of the total of the whole table. A senior executive at the OEM recently told International Construction about the OEMs plans regarding sustainability and new technology.

View previous Yellow Table’s to see who were the world’s top ten equipment manufacturers in previous years at the International Construction issue archive.