Global equipment manufacturers see materials sales slide

Equipment manufacturers Terex and Bobcat experienced a sales downturn in the first quarter, as material handling and processing sales slipped, while fellow OEM Sany grew its revenue.  

Equipment manufacturer Terex backlog drops 

Aerials (AWP) and materials processing (MP) performance declined in the first quarter as the segments felt the impact of production cuts in the past two quarters as Terex worked to resolve backlog issues, Chief Executive Simon Meester said during the May 2 earnings call.   

“Those actions were necessary to manage inventory and rebalance supply with demand,” he said. “The impact is largely behind us, and we expect to see margins improve in Q2.” 

Norwalk, Conn.-based Terex reported:   

• Total Q1 sales fell 4.9% year over year to $1.2 billion; 

• AWP Q1 sales declined 27.8% YoY to $450 million;   

• MP Q1 sales dropped 26.5% YoY to $382 million;  

• Environmental services Q1 sales rose 10.6% YoY to $399 million;  

• Q1 order backlog for AWP was down 39.4% YoY to $1 billion; and  

• MP backlog slipped 40% YoY to $427 million. 

Meanwhile, the OEM continues to balance tariff management with its global supply chain, although Terex expects 75% of its 2025 U.S. machine sales to be manufactured with products from one of the company’s 11 U.S. manufacturing facilities, Meester said. 

“A key element of our tariff mitigation plan was working closely with our global suppliers to absorb the added cost and forward place inventory to buffer the impact,” he said. “We are leveraging our global sourcing capabilities to rebalance supply to more favorable sources among other actions.” 

Bobcat revenues, sales slip 20% YoY 

Doosan Bobcat posted Q1 revenue of $1.4 billion, down 19.9% YoY due to a high base effect and ongoing economic uncertainty, according to its April 28 earnings release. 

According to the earnings release: 

• Operating profit fell 44% YoY to $138 million, with a margin of 9.5%; 

• Compact equipment sales dropped 22.1% YoY to $1.1 billion; 

• Material handling sales declined 19.9% YoY to $214 million; 

• Portable power sales slipped 22% YoY to $64 million; and 

• North America sales saw a 22.2% decline, landing at $1.1 billion.  

Despite tariff-related uncertainties, the company expects benefits from its U.S. production footprint, according to the release. Doosan Bobcat said its Q1 results are in line with internal targets. 

SANY posts $11B in 2024 revenue 

Despite declines at Terex and Bobcat, Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer SANY Heavy Industry reached $10.9 billion in full-year 2024 revenue, a 6.2% increase YoY. 

According to the company’s April 29 earnings release:  

• Net profit rose nearly 32% to $840 million; 

• International sales reached a record $6.8 billion, up 12.2% YoY and representing 64% of the company’s revenue; 

• Gross margin for core operations rose to 26.63%, up 47 basis points YoY, led by a 4.2 percentage-point gain in the hoisting machinery segment;   

• Earthmoving, concrete and hoisting machinery collectively generated 76% of annual revenue, totaling $4.25 billion, $2.01 billion, and $1.83 billion, respectively; and 

• Road machinery grew by 20.8% YoY. 

SANY advanced its green innovation strategy in 2024 by applying for 275 low-carbon patents and generating $560 million from low-carbon products, according to the release. The company also launched more than 40 electric machines, selling more than 6,200 units. 

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