What's the Outlook for Construction Equipment Sales in 2024?

John Ryneska, director of OEM & strategic initiatives at Trader Interactive, parent company of Equipment Trader.Trader Interactive2023 was a mixed bag when it came to new and used construction equipment sales, with steady declines for compact equipment and a slight uptick for larger machines.

It’s a trend that is set to repeat itself this year, according to John Ryneska, director of OEM & strategic initiatives at Trader Interactive, who sat down with Equipment World to share his new-  and used-construction equipment outlook for 2024. Trader Interactive is the parent company of Equipment Trader, one of the largest online marketplaces for new and used heavy equipment.

“Interest rates and bank lending standards have really stunted demand for a lot of the smaller stuff,” Ryneska says. "For larger stuff – your wheel loaders, excavators, dozers – I think it’s all going to hold steady. The nonresidential sector has been steadily climbing, and that’s because billions of dollars are being dumped into infrastructure and mega projects right now.”

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To circumvent those high interest rates and the associated risk that comes with loans, Ryneska says, more contractors are turning toward cash purchases.

“Buyers have already pivoted toward cash transactions, and it's not even just tied to that personal consumer buying a $30,000 skid steer, for instance. It’s also for some of these government-run programs where cash is paying for quarter-million-dollar loaders, versus financing.”

And if buyers aren’t willingly paying with cash, it's likely because they’ve run out of options.