The objective of this study is to present a concise overview of the development of the market for various types of construction equipment and agricultural tractors in Ireland. This report assesses the major trends that have developed since the publication of Off-Highway Research’s last report, which was undertaken in 2014, and offers a forecast for each product sector through to 2024. The report concludes with profiles of leading distributors of construction and agricultural equipment.

The findings presented in this report are based upon Off-Highway Research’s own International Database Service, and on information collected during an extensive interview programme with the country’s leading distributors and importers, conducted remotely due to the restrictions imposed by Covid-19.

There is no formal exchange of sales statistics between importers of construction equipment, and some of the distributors are responsible for sales in Northern Ireland as well as in the Republic in the south. This leads to some distributors declaring sales for the whole of Ireland, but the statistics shown in this report are only for sales invoiced in the Republic. Some machines are invoiced in the South but delivered to and work in Northern Ireland, while sometimes relatively weak sales in the Republic are often invoiced in Northern Ireland. All depends on the exchange rates of Sterling and the Euro.

Although the Irish market is linked with that of the UK, as many companies sell directly from their UK base, it does not necessarily follow that the Irish market mirrors that of the UK. Ireland was hit much harder by the economic crash, and the memory of the devastation that it caused in the construction sector remains very much in the minds of the suppliers. Whilst this made them very cautious for many years, it has actually served them in good stead during the current health crisis. Having experienced, and survived, a 90 per cent decline in business the feeling is that, whilst the current situation is certainly regrettable, it is by no means insurmountable.