Sales and exports slightly down in 2025. 2026 starts with many uncertainties
In the twelve months of 2025, 21,740 construction equipment were placed on the Italian market, down 1% compared to 2024. In detail, 20,699 earth-moving machines (-1%) and 1,041 road machines (+2%). The figures, processed on the basis of manufacturers and importers sales in the sector, were released by Unacea during the online press conference held on Friday, 23 January.
According to the latest Unacea-Cer foreign trade report, international trade is also declining. Between January and October 2025, exports of Italian construction equipment amounted to €2.6 billion, marking a 2.2% decrease compared to the same period of 2024. Imports, on the other hand, increase by 5.9%, reaching a value of €1.8 billion. Despite a drop of 18.7% compared to 2024, trade balance remains positive with a surplus of €721 million.
“We are in an international background marked by trade conflicts that depress both imports and exports – said Luca Nutarelli, managing director of Unacea. The production chain of our sector and sales in Italy are being penalized by everything that distorts the market, both in terms of foreign tariffs and on the made in EU restrictions introduced by the hyper-depreciation measures included in the budget law.”
Unacea estimates that if the hyper-depreciation measure were to remain limited to EU countries, the Italian market would shrink by a third, while without this restriction it could have expanded by up to 8%. In many product segments, the EU supply of machines and technologies is very limited. Furthermore, Italian manufacturers in the sector do not necessarily produce their entire product range within the European Union, but also rely on production facilities located in non-EU countries. Finally, the shrinking market for certain types of machines risks also impacting the equipment mounted on these machines.
“Analysis of road machines data shows that volumes have remained substantially stable for five consecutive years. A reduction in demand is expected due to market saturation, but part of the machines fleet is already undergoing renewal, so the outlook is stable – said Mario Michele Spinelli, CEO of Wirtgen Macchine. The last quarter of 2025 was positive, while the beginning of 2026 appears stagnant due to doubts that are holding back customer decisions. It is essential to quickly understand future outlooks in order to enable a real restart.”
“When tax incentives are in place, customers are more inclined to replace and purchase new machines – said David Bazzi, CEO of Komatsu Italia Manufacturing. However, the climate of uncertainty has slowed the market. 2026 was supposed to be the final year of the PNRR funds, with a consequent acceleration to complete projects and obtain the expected benefits, but at the moment we are waiting to understand how the situation will evolve and what the next decisions will be.”
“The performance of our market is the result of a combination of the level of activity in construction works and the effect of incentives, which represent a direct stimulus to purchases – said Gianluca Calì, marketing director of Cgt. 2026 could have benefited from a further acceleration, but a result below expectations is likely, with a cross-cutting impact on the entire market and an overall penalization of demand. It is also likely that what already happened in 2024 with the uncertainty linked to Industry 5.0 will be repeated. The beginning of 2026 could also be very weak, as companies will tend to wait for clarifications and regulatory developments before deciding whether to invest.”
Read all the report here.
