BEIJING - Sales for China's major excavator producers posted faster growth last month, data from an industry association showed.

The country's 25 leading excavator makers sold a total of 12,346 excavators last month, up 11 percent year-on-year, according to the China Construction Machinery Association.

The pace of growth accelerated from the 6.6 percent increase in June.

In breakdown, 10,190 excavators were sold in the domestic market, jumping 9.1 percent year-on-year, while exports of the equipment climbed 20.7 percent to 2,156.

China's major manufacturers sold a total of 149,553 excavators in the first seven months of this year, up 13.9 percent from the same period last year. During the period, excavator exports surged 35.7 percent from a year ago to 14,491.

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

China sold a total of 203,420 excavators in 2018, surging 45 percent year-on-year, the association said.