China's excavator sales grow 44.9% in October

BEIJING - Sales growth of China's major excavator producers picked up pace in October, adding to evidence that the economy remained resilient.

The country's 25 leading excavator makers sold 15,274 units last month, up 44.9 percent from the previous year, according to the China Construction Machinery Association.

The growth rate rebounded to pair with the level of July, after slowing to 33 percent in August and 27.7 percent in September.

In breakdown, 13,490 excavators were sold in the domestic market, up 39.6 percent year-on-year. Exports of equipment more than doubled to 1,782 units.

A total of 171,516 excavators were sold in the January-October period, up 52.5 percent year-on-year.

Sales of excavators are usually backed by growth in mining, construction and infrastructure investment.

The country's fixed-asset investment grew 5.4 percent in the first three quarters of the year, up from 5.3 percent for the January-August period, with private investment outpacing overall growth, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.