Wholesale sales in the construction machinery sector grew 22.4% in 2024, closing the year with 37,148 units sold. This was the second best period in the segment, according to the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea), which projects a 3% increase in sales for the year 2025. The area includes tracked tractors, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, motor graders, compaction rollers, mini loaders and telescopic handlers.
According to the entity’s balance sheet, the growth in machine sales played a role in sales, with an increase from 37% to 42%, driven by civil construction. Exports fell 12.5%, with 4,538 units. The expectation for 2025 is that the volume will be maintained.
The agricultural machinery sector saw a 20% drop in sales compared to 2023, reaching 48.9 thousand units sold wholesale. The fall was mainly driven by harvesters. Exports of agricultural machinery fell by 31%, with shipments of 6 thousand units, and are expected to grow by just 1% according to the entity’s projections.
Imports
According to Anfavea, attention is currently focused on imports, as marked growth will double the deficit in the trade balance in 2024, with more than 55% of imported machines coming from China and 26% from India. China’s share of machinery imports in the Americas doubled in 2024 from 20.7% to 43% in construction and from 7.7% to 12.7% in agricultural machinery.
“We are very concerned about the increase in the share of imported machines in public purchases, especially companies with less than 20 employees. We are taking this issue to the public authorities, which harms the level of employment in Brazil, the competitiveness of our companies, innovation and even customer service, who at the end of the process suffer from the lack of a reliable network for technical assistance. The bottom line is that everyone in the country loses”, said the president of Anfavea, Márcio de Lima Leite.
