Feeling the earth move.
An increase in road construction and irrigation activities led to a 49.41% growth in sales of earth-moving equipment between January and July, brightening prospects for the industry to post its best ever sales in a year. The numbers also hint at a revival in both projects and investment (public, if not private). Sales have also grown at the fastest pace in the last five years, which included three years of consecutive decline between 2012 and 2014. Sales of construction equipment such as back-hoe loaders, used in all kinds of construction activities; excavators and compactors, used in road construction and irrigation projects; wheel-loaders, used primarily in mining activity for removal of overburden; and material handling equipment such as skid steers and telescopic handlers, rose to 26,106 units during the first seven months of the year from 17,472 units during the year-ago period, according to data provided by Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (IC