This report analyses the market in Italy for crawler dozers and crawler loaders. It is an update on the subject last covered in Off-Highway Research’s European Service in October 2019.

The range of crawler dozers now available runs from the smallest, just over 100 horsepower models, to those of over 1,000 horsepower that are manufactured by Caterpillar and Komatsu. In practice, however, the majority of crawler dozers sold in Italy is in the 130-260 horsepower range. Models larger than a power output of more than 400 horsepower are a rare sight.

Crawler dozers have suffered in relation to the ongoing popularity of crawler excavators, even if they are still an essential tool in some operations. The majority of current sales is for use in the construction sector, although these are increasingly effected via the medium of rental, with industrial, extractive and waste-handling use accounting for the remainder of demand.

Similarly, the role of crawler loaders in Europe is now minimal: demand has remained below 200 units annually since 2008 and the global financial crisis; it last exceeded 500 units in 2001. This decline – the market was 5,301 units in 1980 – is primarily a result of the advancing technical development of wheeled loaders and increasing use of the hydraulic excavator/tipper truck combination. The Italian market has been no exception to this trend and has now fallen from a market of great significance to a rump market of only very limited volumes.

The findings presented in this report are based on Off-Highway Research’s International Database, and on information collected during an interview programme conducted in the first half of 2023 with all relevant importers and distributors.