Jungheinrich AGHamburg, Germany

Material Handling Equipment Prices Rise - The prices received by producers of material handling equipment rose 10.1 percent in September 2008 compared to September 2007. The result may be that distributors of material handling equipment have to pass the price increases to customers or absorb the higher prices and suffer reduced margins. The former option may be the tougher choice as companies tighten their belts in response to the economic slowdown.

Industrial Production Drops - US industrial production, a demand indicator for material handling equipment, declined 4.5 percent in September 2008 compared to September 2007. Several sectors and specific industries that use material handling equipment extensively experienced drops in production. Industrial production of consumer goods fell 5 percent; durable consumer goods declined 11.7 percent. Transportation equipment production fell 38.2 percent; hardware declined 21.6 percent; and soft drinks and ice dropped 14.1 percent.

Material Handling Equipment Imports Mixed - US imports of material handling equipment mostly increased in the first eight months of 2008 compared to a year earlier. Conveyors and conveying equipment imports rose 19.1 percent with the greatest growth from Europe, China, and Japan. Imports of overhead traveling cranes, hoists, and monorail systems increased 14.8 percent; China, Canada, Japan, and Europe had the most export growth to the US. Industrial truck, tractor, trailer, and stacker machinery imports fell 1.2 percent, due mostly to significant drops in exports by Canada, Japan, the UK, and Korea.