Building machinery sales plummet

The trading activities in domestic construction machinery have been strongly effected by public investment cutbacks.

A report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that since the beginning of this year, imports of construction machinery have significantly tumbled.

The ministry reported the volume of imported construction machinery in August was only 900 units, worth about US$27 million.

The figures were down by 57.9 per cent in volume and 38.24 per cent in value over the same month last year.

This was the third consecutive month where both import volume and value decreased, with the figure for August being the lowest of 2011.

In the first eight months, nearly 11,650 units were sent to the country, worth more than $318 million, a year-on-year drop by 31.2 per cent in volume and 18.6 per cent in value.

Regarding the domestic market, traders also confirmed a downturn in sales.

“There has not been an official report. However, according to our calculations, the sales may currently decrease between 15-20 per cent over late last year ,” said IT staff Nguyen Huy Cong who works for a website supplying construction equipment.

“Currently the sales are slow again,” Cong said.

He explained that the construction machinery market developed like the real estate market.

“When the Government tightens public investments, it affects the real estate market. The construction machinery market is in the same situation,” he said.

This trend is predicted to continue to the final months of the year as the Government’s policies in controlling inflation persist.

Until now, 90 per cent of the construction machinery imported to the country is second hand, mainly from Japan, South Korea, China, the US and Thailand.

As of this time, Viet Nam has about 645 companies which have imported construction machinery.

Tags: Building machinery