Compact Equipment Dominates Sales – See What's Hot, What's Not

Compact utility loaders were the only bright spot for financed new equipment sales in a year-over-year Q1 comparison, growing 18.4%, according to UCC-1 data from EDA.

Two other compact machine types saw only modest declines in sales during the first quarter. New compact track loaders were down 1% and compact excavators were down 9%.

The remaining seven machine types examined suffered double-digit decreases during the quarter: motor graders (-39%), wheel loaders (-37%), dozers (-33%), excavators (-28%), skid steers (-24%), articulated haul trucks (-22%), and backhoes (-14%).

Compact utility loaders grow

While still a low-volume category overall, compact utility loaders continue to grow, and new players continue to enter the market.

At ConExpo 2023, Case CE previewed its first mini track loader, the TL100, and Wacker Neuson added two new models to its line, the SM60 and SM120.

During the first quarter of 2023, buyers financed 1,651 new compact utility loaders, compared to 1,395 units during the same period in 2022. The top-selling new models were the Bobcat MT100 (427), Kubota SCL1000 (163) and the Toro Dingo TX1000 (115).

Kubota SVL97-2KubotaCompact track loaders remain on top

Meanwhile, compact track loaders continued to flex their dominance over all other product categories by volume sold.

Buyers financed 10,181 new compact track loaders in the quarter. Nearly 40% more CTLs were sold than compact excavators, the next highest type of machine financed.

The top-selling new financed CTLs were the Kubota SVL97-2 (1,547), the Kubota SVL75-2 (1,371) and the Cat 259D3 (679).

However, more compact excavators were sold in the Northeast and West during the quarter. In the West, 1,361 compact excavators were financed, compared to 1,034 CTLs. And 1,039 compact excavators were financed in the Northeast during the quarter compared to 812 CTLs. (For a breakdown of which states are included in each region, go to the Methodology section below.)

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Kubota topped the list for the best-selling compact excavators as well with its KX040-4 (591) and KX057-5 (436). Deere came in third with 411 financed new units of its 35G sold.

John DeereNew financed heavy equipment sales

Though lower in sales volume than compact machines, we also dug into three full-size machine categories: excavators, wheel loaders and dozers (including low ground pressure, or LGP, models).

The top models for the quarter in terms of number of units financed are as follows:

Excavators:

• Deere 85G (99)
• Bobcat E88 (89)
• Komatsu PC210LC-11 (84)

Wheel Loaders:

• Deere 634P (87)
• Komatsu WA270-8 (86)
• Deere 544P (76)

Dozers:

• Deere 650K (66)
• Deere 700L (63)
• Deere 850L (60)

JCBBrand moves

Three brands saw gains in the number of units financed in Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year, the most significant being JCB, which saw a 104% increase. Double-digit gains were achieved by Kubota (16%) and Bobcat (13%).

New Holland saw the greatest decline in the number of units financed for the quarter, posting a 34% drop from 2022 to 2023. All other brands in the top 10 also experienced double-digit decreases: Case (-28%), Cat (-25%), Komatsu (-23%), Takeuchi (-23%), Volvo (-22%), and Deere (-20%).

[RELATED: 10 Largest Construction Equipment Manufacturers for 2022, According to KHL Yellow Book]

Methodology

EDA is a division of Randall Reilly, the parent company of Equipment World, which tracks UCC-1 filings used by lenders when a machine is financed.

Depending on the type of machine, financed machines can represent 40% to 75% of the total number of machines of that type sold in the United States. Not included in these numbers are machines bought by cash or letter of credit.

EDA reports are continually updated, and these numbers, while representing the majority of the Q1 2023 results, may have changed slightly since this data was pulled in early May.

For purposes of this report, we follow the U.S. Census Bureau’s divisions as follows:

• Northeast: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont
• East and South Central: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
• Midwest: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
• South Atlantic: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and District of Columbia.
• West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming