Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., the nation's second-largest heavy-equipment maker, said Chinese demand for excavators will decline in the first half of next year as monetary tightening slows construction projects.
The sales downturn in China, the world's biggest market for construction equipment, "will continue after the Lunar New Year" next month, Chief Executive Officer Michijiro Kikawa said in an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo. "I had expected Chinese demand to come back sooner."
Kikawa expects industrywide sales of excavators in China to drop by 30 percent in the year to March 31, compared with a forecast of a 20 percent decline two months ago. China will probably see no growth until June or July, Kikawa said.