Hitachi Construction Machinery Co said on Thursday that it expects industry-wide demand for foreign-made excavators in China to decline by 30 percent in the year to March, more than its previous previous forecast of a 20 percent fall.

China demand for excavators should recover to year-ago levels around June or July, and demand there for construction machinery in the year to March 2013 should be better than this financial year, Senior Managing Executive Officer Hiroshi Tokushige told reporters.

The company cut its 2011/12 industry-wide global excavator forecast to 224,000, down by 5,000.