U.S. Exports of Construction Equipment Increase

The market for exports of U.S.-made construction machinery closed out 2006 with a gain of more than 34 percent compared to the previous year, for a total of $13.7 billion worth of equipment sold worldwide, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).

The AEM international trade group consolidates U.S. Commerce Department data with other sources into a quarterly export trends report.

Exports to Central America led the way in 2006 with a 40.5-percent gain in purchases for the year. The region took delivery of $1.3 billion worth of U.S.-made construction equipment. Construction machinery exports to South America increased almost 17 percent in 2006, with purchases worth $1.9 billion.

Exports of U.S. construction equipment to Canada improved 22 percent and totaled $5 billion. Construction machinery exports to Africa gained 34 percent with purchases of $640 million. Australia/Oceania took delivery of $1.4 billion of construction equipment from the United States, an increase of 26 percent.

The two world regions showing overall declines for U.S. construction machinery exports were Asia and Europe. Exports to Asia dropped 11 percent and totaled $1.5 billion, while exports to Europe were 12 percent lower than the previous year at $1.85 billion.

More information is available at www.aem.org.