BEIJING — China's major excavator makers registered steady growth in sales in the first 10 months of the year, industry data showed.

The country's 25 leading excavator manufacturers sold a total of 298,302 units in the January-October period, rising 13.1 percent year-on-year, showed data from the China Construction Machinery Association.

Excavator exports logged a sharp increase of 96.8 percent during the period, while domestic sales of the equipment increased 3.5 percent.

In October alone, excavator sales came in at 18,964 units, dropping 30.6 percent year-on-year. Specifically, domestic sales of excavator declined 47.2 percent from a year ago while exports of the equipment surged 84.8 percent.

Sales of digging machines are a significant indicator of the vitality of an economy as demand is usually backed by growth in mining and infrastructure development.