Equipment makers eye US data centers

The rapid expansion of US data center construction is creating new opportunities for Chinese heavy equipment manufacturers, and they arrived at North America's largest construction trade show to demonstrate how their portfolios are positioned to meet this growing demand.

"I was with one of our customers last week that just sold a couple of SY500H — some of our largest machines — to a data center project," David Nicoll, CEO of SANY America, told China Daily at the company's booth at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, which runs through Saturday in Las Vegas.

The SY500H, a high-performance, heavy-duty excavator built for utility infrastructure and mass excavation, was among the displays at SANY's booth. The company also launched 11 new machines at the show, debuting its first material handler for the North American market. SANY currently offers 68 models and is introducing or updating 30 machines this year.

Driven by AI workloads, hyperscale cloud growth and a race to secure power and real estate, data center construction has become the fastest-growing segment of nonresidential construction in the United States, according to a recent report by MOCA Systems, a construction project consultancy. It projected that the US data center construction market will reach $86 billion this year, an eightfold increase from the 2022 baseline.

A separate report by Fortune Business Insights identified rising data center construction as one of the key drivers of broader construction equipment demand, noting that the push toward digitalization, automation and AI adoption is fueling demand for high-precision machinery at an unprecedented scale.

For SANY, building data centers requires a wide array of heavy machinery, and it can supply the full spectrum.

"We see the data center demand is strong in the US. Those are big capital projects that require larger equipment. And SANY has a wide range of equipment, from a very small piece of equipment to a 330-ton crane," Nicoll said. "So we expect our large excavators, larger construction equipment, wheel loaders, motor graders and our crane business to be bolstered by data center and larger projects."

He said the nature of data center projects also creates strong demand in the rental sector, as construction timelines of six to 12 months often lead customers to rent rather than purchase equipment outright.

"When you look at a data center project, it requires usually multiple companies and lots of different machines, from excavators to telehandlers to cranes and wheel loaders. We bring the entire package of machines needed to compete on a project like that," Nicoll said.

XCMG Group, another leading Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer, is also positioning itself to capture data center-related demand. At the show, the company launched its new PRO series: premium, upgraded construction machines featuring advanced human-machine interaction capabilities, including fault self-diagnosis and intelligent control systems designed to make complex operations more precise and efficient.

The PRO models drew immediate market interest, with several major North American dealers submitting expressions of interest and preliminary orders at the expo, according to Feng Ruoyu, XCMG's senior brand manager.

"The rapid expansion of AI in the United States has created substantial demand for infrastructure. Whether it is the construction of large server centers or the expansion of power capacity, both require significant amounts of construction machinery," Feng told China Daily. "Though this demand is mostly being met by domestic brands, we still see opportunities in this market."

For SANY, this year's show coincides with the 20th anniversary of its entry into North America. Since 2006, the company has built a 230-acre manufacturing, parts distribution and administration campus in Peachtree City, Georgia, and expanded its dealer network to 72 dealers operating across 191 locations.

"That's a dramatic improvement since the last CONEXPO three years ago," Nicoll said. Looking ahead, he said the broader industry outlook for 2026 remains constructive.

"From an industry perspective, we see moderate growth in 2026 due to infrastructure, data centers and renewable energy projects, and that is supporting the current demand for equipment, which is relatively high, historically speaking," he said.