In this article, we discuss the 11 largest heavy equipment manufacturers in the world as of 2024. You can also check out 10 Buzzing AI Semiconductor Stocks in 2024.
For context, Heavy-duty equipment is a specific category of machinery used for heavy-duty work, such as construction, forestry, mining, and industrial operations.
The global heavy construction equipment market was at $190.3 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $252.4 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 4.8%. Much of the growth in 2022 in terms of value was led by Asia Pacific, and the industry’s growth in the region is now estimated at a CAGR of 4.9% between 2023 and 2028. This strong market presence is due to the growing mining and infrastructure developments in the region, particularly in China and India.
Moreover, with the rising demand for raw materials to secure energy interest, countries like India and China are actively looking for lithium mines for battery manufacturing, which will promote the increased usage of heavy construction equipment in the Asia Pacific. While the heavy equipment market is growing, there are some challenges faced by the leading manufacturers in the industry.
Within the US, the construction industry is especially seeing an uptick. With multiple roads, bridges, rail, and other infrastructure development projects in the pipeline, the use and demand for heavy-duty machinery is on the rise. On 15th November 2021, the President of the US signed a historic infrastructure bill into law worth $1 trillion. After two years, on November 10th, 2023, the government announced around 40,000 projects worth $400 billion in more than 4,500 communities across the country.
While the heavy equipment market is growing, there are some prominent challenges faced by the leading manufacturers in the industry. For example, since heavy industry is responsible for 30% of the US’s GHG emissions, environmental concerns and regulations have been considered to be one of the major downsides of the heavy construction equipment industry.
In September 2019, Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas Inc. (HCEA) and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd (HHI), collectively known as “Hyundai,” reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of the settlement, Hyundai agreed to pay a $47 million civil penalty for violating Title II of the Clean Air Act. The settlement addressed allegations that Hyundai sold heavy construction vehicles with diesel engines that did not comply with applicable emission standards.
To reduce their carbon footprint and meet the sustainability demand and regulation, heavy equipment manufacturers including key players in the industry, such as Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNH), Deere & Co (NYSE:DE), and Kubota Corp (TYO:6326), are investing massive capital in research and development (R&D) to develop new technologies and more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), the largest manufacturer of excavators, has invested more than $30 billion in R&D over the past 20 years to develop the best-in-class innovation. The main focus of these innovations has been autonomy, alternative fuels, connectivity, and digital, and electrification (AACE) — technologies aimed at inflicting less harm to the environment.
Meanwhile, CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNH) R&D expenditure reached $866 billion in 2022 and $1.041 billion in 2023. In both years, the R&D expenses were primarily attributable to continued investment in new products, technologies, and digital solutions.
On the other hand, Deere & Co (NYSE:DE), a global leader in manufacturing agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, and diesel engines, invested nearly $2.2 billion in researching and developing new technology solutions and new product introductions. Out of this investment, substantial costs were related to meeting equipment fuel standards by incorporating technologies that deliver intelligent solutions to their customers through digital capabilities, automation, autonomy, and alternative fuel solutions. At the start of 2023, in January, Deere & Co (NYSE:DE) announced its new development, ExactShot™, which will allow customers to reduce inputs during planting applications, generating cost savings and lowering their environmental footprint.
Another leading company, Kubota Corp (TYO:6326) has budgeted an investment of nearly $3.2 billion in R&D by 2025, targeting mainly three areas — developing technologies for carbon-free power trains, development of smart agriculture and autonomous technologies, and the last area is resource cycling technologies. In FY 2023, Kubota Corp’s capital investment in R&D was nearly $563 million.
Continue reading to find out where these three companies are ranked on the list of the 11 largest heavy equipment manufacturers in the world.
Our Methodology
For our list of the Largest Heavy Equipment Manufacturers in the World, we consulted various sources and articles on the web to compile a pool of the largest and most renowned heavy equipment manufacturers worldwide. To shortlist the largest companies from the list, we ranked the companies by revenue. For accuracy, we have sourced data from each company’s financial reports for the full fiscal year 2023. As a secondary source, we have used data from Yahoo Finance. For one company on the list, data for the fiscal year 2023 was unavailable, which is why we have used data for the 2022 fiscal year. Note that this has only been utilized based on the notion that the 2023 revenue forecast for the company was higher than the actual revenue of FY2022. The list is ranked in ascending order of revenue of each company.
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11 Largest Heavy Equipment Manufacturers in the World
11. XCMG
Revenue (FY2023): $13,056,796,424
Commonly referred to by its abbreviation, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (XCMG) is a Chinese multinational state-owned heavy machinery manufacturing company founded in March 1943. As the name suggests, the company is headquartered in Xuzhou, Jiangsu. With a revenue of around $13.06 billion for Fiscal Year 2023 and over 2,000 service outlets, XCMG is a leading company in China’s heavy equipment machinery manufacturing industry.
10. Liebherr
Revenue (FY2023): $15,233,463,700
Founded in 1949, Liebherr is a German-Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer and one of the largest construction machine manufacturers in the world. The founder of this company, Hans Liebherr, was an inventor, entrepreneur, and visionary. Hans is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of Germany’s post-war economy. As of 2024, according to the company’s data, Liebherr Group has over 53,659 employees globally.
In 2023, the company achieved a revenue of over $15.233 billion (€14,042 million), which was an increase of 11.5% from the previous year. Generating a revenue of €6,507 million within the region in 2023, the Liebherr Group’s strongest market is the European Union.
9. Kobelco Construction Machinery
Revenue (FY2022): $15,753,926,877
Kobelco Construction Machinery is one of the leading Japanese companies of excavators and cranes. It was founded in 1999 when the Construction Machinery Division of Kobe Steel, Ltd. merged with Yutani Heavy Industries Ltd. and Kobe Steel Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. In January 2024, Kobelco Construction Machinery announced the launch of its new telescopic boom crawler crane, TKE750G, for its European market. The heavy-duty equipment is designed for foundation work and has a maximum lifting capacity of 75 metric tonnes.
In terms of sales and revenue, Kobelco Construction Machinery ranks 9th on our list with an annual revenue of over $15.75 billion in FY 2022 (according to the most recent report available). Also, according to this report, the updated forecasts for FY2023 for Kobelco stand at $16,311,447,040 ($16.3 billion). With these forecasts in consideration, the company’s ranking on the list of largest heavy equipment manufacturers by revenue would not change.
8. Kubota
Revenue (FY2023): $19,246,870,341
Ranked 8th on the list, Kubota is another Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer producing a range of machinery including tractors and other heavy-duty agricultural equipment. The company was founded in 1980 by Gonshiro Kubota who believed in working for the prosperity of society. In 1922, Kubota introduced its first kerosene engine for use in the agricultural market, and since then the company continued to evolve and thrive around the world.
As of 2024, Kubota has a presence in over 120 countries with over 50,000 employees worldwide. It is one of the best heavy equipment brands in the world and continues to thrive in the market with a revenue of over $19.2 billion in FY 2023.
7. Komatsu Ltd (OTCMKTS:KMTUY)
Revenue (FY2023): $22,577,814,375
Founded on May 13th, 1921, Komatsu Ltd. is a Japanese MNC headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Komatsu manufactures construction, mining, forestry, and military equipment as well as diesel engines and industrial equipment like press machines, lasers, and thermoelectric generators. Although many people consider Komatsu to be bigger than the industry giant, Caterpillar, in reality, Komatsu is heavily outranked by Caterpillar. For the Fiscal Year 2023, Komatsu Ltd generated a revenue of almost $22.58 billion.
6. CNH Industrial NV (NYSE:CNH)
Revenue (FY2023): $24,687,000,000
Founded in 1842, CNH Industrial NV (CNH) is a European MNC that operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company designs, manufactures, markets, sells, and finances agricultural and construction equipment, and its products include tractors, commercial vehicles, seeding equipment, excavators, graders, etc.
Ranked 6th among the top 11 largest heavy equipment manufacturers in the world, CNH Industrial generated a revenue of around $24.7 billion in FY2023.
5. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Revenue (FY2023): $31,474,552,000
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, dating all the way back to 1884, was founded by Yataro Iwasaki in a leased government-owned property and is now one of the world’s leading heavy equipment manufacturers. According to the most recent available data, the company owns around 300 domestic and overseas companies. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is also making efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
4. AB Volvo
Revenue (FY2023): $50,881,076,310.40
AB Volvo is a Swedish MNC in the heavy equipment manufacturing industry, founded in April 1927 by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson. As of 2024, the company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. AB Volvo primarily produces, distributes, and sells trucks, buses, and construction equipment. Other than this, through its many subsidiaries, the company also supplies marine and industrial drive systems and financial services. As of the most recent available data, AB Volvo employs over 100,000 people and operates in almost 190 markets globally. For Fiscal Year 2023, AB Volvo generated a revenue of over $50.8 billion despite the geopolitical turmoil, continued supply chain disturbances, and inflation.
3. Hitachi, Ltd
Revenue (FY2023): $60,212,177,550
Ranked 3rd, Hitachi, Ltd. is a renowned name in the manufacturing industry, founded in 1910 and established in 1920. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and has around 322,525 total number of employees worldwide. Hitachi is a Japanese multinational conglomerate, which actively operates in multiple industries, including digital systems, power and renewable energy solutions, railway systems, healthcare products, and financial systems.
2. Deere & Co (NYSE:DE)
Revenue (FY2023): $61,251,000,000
With an annual revenue of over 61.25 billion for 2023 (a 16% increase from 2022), Deere & Co. positions itself as the second-largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world as of 2024. Headquartered in Moline, IL, Deere & Company, is an American corporation founded in 1837. The company manufactures a wide range of products including agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment.
1. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)
Revenue (FY2023): $67,100,000,000
Topping the list, Caterpillar Inc. is the biggest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world as of 2024. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 when the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C. L. Best Tractor Co. merged to form a new company. Two years later, in 1927, the company introduced its first model — the Model Twenty Tractor. Now nearly a century later, Caterpillar Inc. is the leading company in the heavy equipment industry with more than 300 products.
In 2023, the company posted record sales and revenue of $67.1 billion, which was up by 13% compared with $59.4 billion in 2022. Moreover, adjusted profit per share increased from $13.84 in FY 2022 to $21.21 in 2023. The Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Jim Umpleby, said, “I’m very proud of our global team’s strong performance as they achieved the best year in our 98-year history, including record full-year sales and revenues, record adjusted profit per share and record ME&T free cash flow.”
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