Market Development in Q1/2012

In contrast to the moderate international economic environment, the global industrial truck market remained stable at 247,000 units in Q1/2012 – the same high level seen in the prior year period. This also marked an increase of 4% over Q4/2011 and potentially demonstrated some improvement in the market since the start of the year. However, developments in regional markets, especially in Europe, remained very different. The North American market enjoyed continued growth of 13% and markets in Eastern Europe were up by 5%. Overall demand in Western Europe declined by 5%, whereas markets in Germany and United Kingdom showed solid improvements compared to the same period last year. The Chinese market slightly declined from 64,000 units in Q1/2011 to 61,000 units in Q1/2012.