Anhui Heli Co Ltd's forklift sales continued growing despite recession.

China continues to lead the global forklift market and the gap with the US, the second-largest market, is expected to widen.

From January to June 2010, domestic forklift sales crossed the 90,000-unit mark, up nearly 113% from 2009. Industry experts predict forklift sales will grow further in the full year.

Linde (China) CEO CP Quek tells China Daily that China is the only forklift market which grew last year, compared to the over 40% decline in the global forklift market. "It is a huge boost for the industry," Quek says.

According to China Daily, forklift sales in 2009 increased 4% despite the global financial crisis, with about 90,000 units sold domestically, resulting in China surpassing the US as the world's biggest forklift market.

"China has now contributed to at least a quarter of the world's forklift market and will still grow in the future," Quek says.

He thinks China will sell up to 180,000 forklifts for the whole year and the gap between Chinese and US forklift markets will widen further.

The Chinese government's focus on infrastructure construction and stimulus policies is said to have boosted demand for forklifts.

Linde (China) has maintained its leading position in the foreign-branded forklift segment with sales almost doubling in the first year. China Daily reports that Anhui Heli Co Ltd, China's largest domestic forklift producer, sold 270,000 forklifts in the first half of 2010, with year-on-year growth of 79.8%. The company has predicted a net profit growth of between 2,700 and 3,200% for the first six months.