Global sales of road building equipment saw a significant rise in the second half of the 2010s. According to Off- Highway Research, which was compiling final figures for 2019 as International Construction went to press, the market last year totalled more than 9,000 asphalt pavers and in the region of 100,000 rollers of various types. The data on other road building equipment, such as slipform pavers, is not covered by the company.
The ups and downs in demand for compactors can be driven by a number of factors, as they are used across many types of infrastructure projects. Of course, road building is important, but when it comes to single-drum rollers, any sort of earthworks can drive demand.