Korea Customs Service trade data, January–September

Exports to US surpass full-year 2025 figure

Up about 30% from a year earlier

After topping $700 million in 2023, exports fell for two consecutive years

HD Construction Equipment, Doosan Bobcat post third-quarter earnings turnaround

A data center in the United States. [Reuters]
A data center in the United States. [Reuters]

South Korean excavator exports to the United States have rebounded for the first time in three years, driven by a surge in AI data center construction investment. The two domestic construction equipment makers with the largest US exposure — HD Construction Equipment and Doosan Bobcat — are also seeing an earnings turnaround on the back of AI-related demand.

Korea Customs Service trade statistics released Tuesday show that South Korea exported $268.33 million worth of excavators to the US in the first nine months of this year, already surpassing last year's full-year total of $264.7 million. The figure represents a roughly 30.6 percent increase from $205.52 million in the same period a year earlier. Overall excavator exports grew a more modest 14.6 percent over the same stretch, rising from $1.76 billion in the first nine months of last year to $2.02 billion this year.

It is the first year-on-year increase in US-bound excavator exports in three years. The United States, home to one of the world's largest construction markets, has long been South Korea's top or second-largest excavator export destination. But a construction slowdown tied to economic weakness sent shipments into a prolonged slide: after surpassing $700 million in 2023, exports plunged 54.0 percent to $340.8 million in 2024 and fell a further 18.0 percent the following year.

A 100-ton excavator made by HD Construction Equipment. [HD Construction Equipment]
A 100-ton excavator made by HD Construction Equipment. [HD Construction Equipment]

The reversal this year reflects a boom in AI data center investment. Soaring power demand driven by AI has prompted US big-tech companies and power providers to aggressively build out data center complexes on American soil. The American Institute of Architects forecast that US data center construction investment, which stood at around $41.2 billion last year, will grow 33 percent this year and a further 24.7 percent next year.

HD Construction Equipment and Doosan Bobcat, both of which had struggled through a prolonged global construction downturn, are showing clear signs of recovery this year. HD Construction Equipment posted operating profit of 157.7 billion won ($118 million) in the third quarter, up 23.9 percent from a year earlier. "Excavator demand at US data center construction sites is recovering," a company official said.

HD Construction Equipment is also broadening its footprint at data center sites by supplying not only excavators but also power generation engines. The company recently signed a 390 billion won contract to supply data center power generation engines to Erock, a US power infrastructure solutions provider, over two years.

Doosan Bobcat is likewise recovering, posting third-quarter operating profit of 167.4 billion won, up 25.3 percent from a year earlier. The company had struggled through last year, when its full-year operating profit fell 21.3 percent from the prior year to 676.1 billion won. At a recent earnings conference call, Doosan Bobcat said North American sales rose 15 percent year on year, adding that retail sales and orders in North America and Europe "remain solid despite interest rate concerns."


klee@heraldcorp.com