South Korea's excavator exports surge 36% on Africa, Latin America gold mining boom

South Korea's excavator exports are on the rise, driven by a wave of new mining projects across Africa and other emerging markets that has stoked demand for heavy digging equipment. HD Hyundai Construction Equipment, the country's leading excavator maker, is expected to post strong earnings this year as the market rebounds.

Cumulative excavator exports through April totaled $952.33 million (1.4445 trillion won), up 35.9% from $700.67 million (1.0627 trillion won) in the same period last year, according to Korea Customs Service trade statistics released Tuesday. HD Hyundai Construction Equipment and Volvo Construction Equipment Korea are among the domestic companies exporting excavators.

South Korea's excavator exports peaked at $3.235 billion (about 5 trillion won) in 2022 before falling for two consecutive years as the market entered a correction after a prolonged boom. Exports staged a recovery in 2025, reaching $2.340 billion (3.5 trillion won), and the upward trend has continued into this year.

The surge is being fueled by robust infrastructure investment in emerging markets. Rising gold prices — a result of heightened domestic and global uncertainty — have in particular triggered a wave of new mining development projects across Africa and Latin America.

With end-market demand picking up, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment has secured a string of large excavator export contracts since the start of the year. In January, the company signed supply agreements with Ethiopian mining firms for a total of 120 large excavators. The following month, it concluded a deal to supply 13 DEVELON 100-ton excavators and seven HYUNDAI 100-ton excavators to open-pit mines in Mongolia.

Industry analysts expect excavator exports to keep climbing, as infrastructure investment deferred in emerging economies resumes and demand for construction machinery surges. The global construction equipment market is projected to reach 1.183 million units this year, up 3% from a year earlier, according to British market research firm Off-Highway Research. Growth is forecast to accelerate to 4% in 2027 and 5% in 2028.

Demand could rise even further if the Middle East war that broke out in late February ends, given the scale of post-war reconstruction work that would require excavators. The United States and Iran have recently been engaged in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, according to foreign media reports.

At its first-quarter earnings conference call in April, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment said it would "actively respond to opportunities in the Middle East region through our dealer network once the war ends." The company held a 13.9% market share in the Middle East and Africa as of the first quarter of this year.

The string of positive developments has sent HD Hyundai Construction Equipment's results sharply higher. The company posted sales of 2.3049 trillion won and operating profit of 190.7 billion won in the first quarter, up 22% and 88%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier.

The North American market remains a wildcard. The recovery of the construction equipment market there has lagged other regions due to a deteriorating local construction environment. Some analysts have also warned that HD Hyundai Construction Equipment could take a hit if US-Iran ceasefire negotiations collapse and the Middle East war drags on longer than expected.

"If the war is prolonged, it could lead to a slowdown in construction equipment demand in the Middle East and increased cost burdens," said Chae Un-saem, an analyst at Hana Securities.