Russian road-building equipment sales plunge more than 30%
Sales of road-building and construction machinery in Russia fell by more than 30% in the first half of 2026 as high borrowing costs, weaker construction activity and excess inventories of imported equipment weighed on the market, Kommersant reported.
Russian sales of road-building and construction machinery dropped by more than 30% in the first half of 2026, according to a report by Kommersant. The market fell 30.2% year-over-year to 14.8 billion rubles ($179.5 million) during this period. Analysts attribute the decline primarily to Russia's high interest rate, which has made loans and leasing increasingly costly for construction firms.
This has forced companies to delay plans to replace their existing equipment. Additionally, a slowdown in residential construction and road building has further reduced demand for new machinery. Imports, especially from China, are exacerbating the situation in the Russian market. While the pace of decline has slowed, it remains steep.
In the first quarter, sales plummeted 51.3% compared to the same period last year. The sectors hit hardest include skid-steer loaders (-64.4%), pipelayers (-56.5%) and crawler bulldozers (-53.8%). Excavator sales dropped 16.7%, and road rollers declined 5.9%. Chinese manufacturers such as Lonking, Griffon, XCMG, LiuGong, and Zoomlion dominate the market.
A significant recovery in demand during the second half of 2026 is unlikely, with the leasing segment potentially seeing a more severe downturn of 40% to 50%. Russia may increasingly opt for concrete roads to cut infrastructure costs. The Russian government has also acknowledged that the country's economic growth has stalled due to a record budget deficit.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
