With the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown bringing construction activity to a halt, construction equipment (CE) sales volume has nosedived 70 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter. This follows a 20 per cent volume decline in fiscal 2020, according to a report by Crisil Research.

The CE business — comprising backhoes, excavators, cranes, compactors and loaders — has run into greasy ground.

The second half of the current fiscal could see more whirr and hum. However, volume could retract by a one-third year-on-year this fiscal, especially since public spending will be diverted towards healthcare and public welfare. That means lower investments in infrastructure and ergo, slack demand for CE, it said.

Excavators (about 23 per cent of total sales), more expensive and niche, will see a sharper volume de-growth. Backhoe loaders (about 45 per cent) may be relatively less impacted owing to their lower cost and multi-functionality.

Crane volume (about 9 per cent) is expected to dip with slowdown in the cement, power and auto sectors. Compactor volume (about 4 per cent) would decrease as highway construction declined 10-13 per cent on-year this fiscal, it added.