Construction equipment makers enjoying brisk overseas sales

South Korean construction equipment manufacturers are basking in robust overseas sales despite the resurgence of new coronavirus infections, industry data showed Tuesday.

South Korea's top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said its European subsidiary sold 543 units of excavators and other construction equipment in June, a new monthly high.

Its previous monthly record was set in April 2019, when the European subsidiary shipped 504 units.

Brisk sales in Britain and Italy led the June figure, which was 13 percent more than its monthly target set at the start of the year, said Doosan Infracore, which belongs to Doosan Group.

Doosan Infracore attributed June's strong performance to its efforts to step up online marketing, saying it will actively tap into overseas markets by launching new models and boosting sales of heavy-duty dump trucks with a special refraction system in the second half of the year.

Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. said it has an order backlog of 12,703 units, including some 8,000 for construction machinery, thanks to a jump in orders from emerging markets.

The number is the largest-ever order backlog since 2018, according to the construction equipment maker under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.

In the first quarter of the year, Hyundai Construction Equipment chalked up sales of 226 billion won ($197 million) in Russia and other emerging countries, up 18 percent from a year earlier. The company won orders for 3,673 units in the April-June period, up 2,337 units from a year earlier. (Yonhap)