The Tool Desk
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Construction growth can increase demand for drilling and ground-engaging tools—but only when it translates into more work that uses them. More excavation, rock drilling, quarrying, roadwork, or infrastructure construction can mean more machine hours and faster wear. The effect is neither automatic nor uniform: project mix, ground conditions, equipment use, replacement timing, and machine compatibility all matter. Recent company reporting illustrates the disconnect: Epiroc described weak construction-attachment demand during 2025 even as mining supported its rock-drilling tool orders, then reported an initial recovery in construction attachments in the first quarter of 2026.
Why construction growth can raise tool demand
Construction activity affects tool demand through two related channels: the number of projects requiring ground work and the intensity with which equipment is used. A new road, transit project, building foundation, quarry expansion, or utility installation may require drilling, breaking, digging, loading, or earthmoving. If more such work proceeds, contractors and operators may use existing tools for more hours, add equipment or attachments, and replace worn components sooner.
That chain has several steps. A higher construction-spending figure does not necessarily mean more ground work: spending may go toward buildings, labor, materials, or project phases that use little drilling or excavation. Even when a project includes ground work, its tool needs depend on the type of work, geology, equipment selected, and how long the work lasts. Tool demand is therefore better understood as a consequence of project activity and equipment utilization than as a direct percentage of construction growth.
- More relevant projects: More excavation, drilling, quarrying, or infrastructure work can increase the number of tools needed on active sites.
- More operating hours: Higher utilization can accelerate wear and bring forward replacement of consumables and wear parts.
- New or changed equipment needs: A project may require a specific machine or attachment, but the fit depends on the equipment and work conditions.
- Timing and project mix: Spending may be announced, delayed, concentrated in a few large projects, or directed at work that does not use the same tool categories.
Demand can also lag construction growth. Contractors may first use existing inventory, and distributors may reduce stock before placing new orders. Equipment additions, tool replacement, and replenishment can occur at different points in a project cycle.
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Drilling tools and ground-engaging tools serve different work
“Drilling and ground-engaging tools” covers several product families, not one interchangeable market. Drilling tools make holes in rock or other material; ground-engaging tools contact and break, penetrate, or protect equipment working against the ground. Their demand can move differently because they serve different tasks and customer groups.
| Tool category | Typical role in the work | What can drive use or replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Rock-drilling tools, including bits | Drill into rock for applications such as quarrying, mining, or construction work that requires rock drilling. | Drilling activity, rock conditions, rig compatibility, operating hours, and wear during use. |
| Bucket teeth and lips | Engage material during digging and loading; teeth aid penetration, while the lip is the bucket edge that carries the teeth. | Excavation and loading hours, material conditions, bucket configuration, and wear. |
| Protective shrouds | Protect exposed parts of ground-engaging equipment from wear. | Use in abrasive or otherwise demanding conditions, the protected component’s configuration, and replacement needs. |
| Hydraulic attachments | Provide powered functions for work such as breaking or other construction tasks, depending on the attachment. | Project type, attachment utilization, machine fit, and service or replacement needs. |
The table describes roles, not a performance ranking. A drilling bit, a bucket tooth, and a hydraulic attachment cannot be compared as if they performed the same job. Even within a category, suitability depends on the exact application and equipment.
Construction and mining demand can diverge
Construction growth is only one possible source of demand for these tools. Mining, quarrying, and other extractive activity can create demand for rock-drilling tools even when building construction is subdued. Conversely, construction may support excavation or attachment use without producing a matching increase in mining-oriented drilling products.
Epiroc’s reporting makes this distinction visible. In 2025, it said construction demand for attachments remained weak and distributors were destocking attachment inventory. By the fourth quarter, attachment demand had stabilized at seasonally low levels. The company also said mining—particularly gold and copper—supported orders for rock-drilling tools. In its Q1 2026 report, Epiroc described an initial recovery in construction-attachment demand and somewhat improved infrastructure demand. These are company-specific observations about its business and customer mix, not a measure of total industry demand.
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The takeaway is not that one segment predicts another. It is that a supplier’s overall results can combine products exposed to different end markets. A strong mining contribution can support rock-drilling orders while construction attachments remain weak; a construction recovery may improve attachment demand without establishing a broad rise in every drilling or wear-tool category.
Epiroc’s 2025 Annual and Sustainability Report, Tools & Attachments and its Q1 2026 interim report provide the company’s dated account of these conditions.
What recent construction indicators do—and do not—show
Available indicators point to different conditions by geography and sector. They help frame the potential sources of tool demand, but none of the figures below is a forecast or measurement of drilling-tool or ground-engaging-tool sales.
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Statistics Canada reported that current-dollar capital investment intentions for mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction were expected to reach $65.3 billion in 2026, up 6.8%. Within that group, mining and quarrying investment was expected to rise 7.3%. These are intentions, not final spending outcomes or tool-sales forecasts. The survey for the preliminary 2025 estimates and 2026 intentions ran from September 2025 through January 2026.
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Separately, Canadian capital spending on infrastructure assets rose 3.8% to $141.0 billion in 2024. Public-transit infrastructure investment rose 36.3% to $17.1 billion that year. Statistics Canada noted that completion of major transport projects affected the figures, so the annual increases should not be read as evidence of a uniform future trend. The mining intentions and infrastructure figures cover different activities and periods; neither establishes how many tools were sold or how much tool demand will grow.
See Statistics Canada’s February 25, 2026 release on non-residential capital and repair expenditures for the intentions and infrastructure figures.
United States: a mixed building outlook
The American Institute of Architects reported that U.S. nonresidential building construction spending fell 7% in nominal dollars during the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Its July 2026 consensus forecast projected a 0.3% decline in this category for 2026, followed by 3.0% growth in 2027. Those are building-sector figures, not a forecast for all construction or for tool demand.
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The sector mix matters even within that forecast. AIA projected data-center construction growth of 33% in 2026 while manufacturing construction was forecast to decline 11.6%. Different project types can involve different amounts and kinds of ground work, so a headline building-spending trend cannot identify demand for a particular tool. AIA’s July 2026 Consensus Construction Forecast sets out the forecast; U.S. construction-spending data are available through the Census Bureau’s Construction Spending portal.
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Broader U.S. outlook: distinguish forecast from result
Deloitte reported that total U.S. construction spending had declined almost 3% year over year by July 2025, with commercial and manufacturing construction particularly weak. Its November 2025 outlook projected investment in structures to move from a decline in 2025 to nearly 1.8% growth in 2026. That was a forecast, not an observed result for 2026, and it covers a broader category than AIA’s nonresidential-building forecast. Deloitte’s 2026 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook gives the outlook context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why wear and replacement create recurring demand
Tools that operate in harsh or performance-critical conditions are consumed, damaged, or worn during use. When project activity increases operating hours, it can raise the rate at which consumables and spare parts are needed, even if the fleet size stays the same. The relationship depends on conditions and use; more construction spending alone does not establish a particular replacement interval or parts bill.
Epiroc’s 2025 reporting says service and digitalization represented 42% of its revenue, while Tools & Attachments represented 24%. Together, those reported categories account for 66% of Epiroc’s revenue. This illustrates the scale of recurring and product-related business for that supplier; it is not an industry-wide aftermarket share, nor does it mean that all 66% consists of replacement wear parts. Epiroc notes that equipment used in harsh, performance-critical environments has high use of consumables and spare parts. See its report section on high proportion of recurring business.
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How to evaluate the effect on a project or equipment decision
A contractor, fleet manager, or procurement team should translate a broad growth signal into the work actually expected and the equipment it uses. This sequence avoids treating an economic forecast as a product specification or a sales guarantee.
- Identify the project work. Separate rock drilling, excavation and loading, roadwork, quarrying, infrastructure work, and other tasks. A rise in one category does not imply equal growth in another.
- Describe the material and conditions. Establish what the tool will encounter and the operating conditions. Ground or rock conditions influence the demands on the tool and the wear pattern.
- Verify tool-to-machine fit. Check compatibility with the specific rig, machine, bucket, or attachment. A generic bit or wear-part recommendation may not fit the equipment or application.
- Estimate utilization and replacement needs. Consider expected operating hours and the consumables or parts that may wear. Do not infer a replacement interval from a spending-growth rate.
- Compare cost per unit of work, not just purchase price. Assess tool cost alongside the work delivered, expected wear, downtime implications, and replacement needs. The cited sources do not provide a universal product ranking or independent performance test.
- Check supply and support. Confirm that compatible tools, consumables, and service are available for the equipment and location. A product that cannot be supplied when needed may not support planned utilization.
- Keep the market signal in its proper scope. Record whether the indicator is an investment intention, historical spending, company order commentary, or a forecast, and keep its geography, sector, and date attached to it.
What can be concluded about the market
Construction growth can support higher demand for drilling and ground-engaging tools when it produces more relevant work and higher utilization. The effect is mediated by project mix, equipment choice, ground conditions, inventory, replacement needs, and the timing of orders. Mining can support some drilling-tool demand independently of construction, and company reporting shows that construction attachments and rock-drilling tools need not move together.
The indicators available here do not establish an independent, industry-wide growth rate for drilling or ground-engaging tool demand. Canadian investment intentions, U.S. construction forecasts, infrastructure spending, and Epiroc’s company-specific reports answer different questions. Use them as context for a segment or project—not as a substitute for product-level sales data or a verified compatibility assessment.
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