MJOLBY, Sweden -- BT Industries says the global forklift market has been "marked" by the economic decline in the USA.

BT's market for warehouse materials handling products decreased in north America by 30%. While Europe had maintained good levels of product demand, it was also showing signs of decline.

"BT's customers are primarily in consumer goods distribution, and around one third of our overall business is from services to complement lift truck sales," BT chief executive Carl-Erik Ridderstrale said.
"This makes BT less sensitive when the economy slows. Through global market coverage, BT is also less sensitive to regional economic swings."
BT's net sales rose 20 percent from SEK8.1 billion (USD766 million) in January to September 2000 to SEK9.7 billion (USD917 million) in the same period this year, helped by a high backlog of orders at the start of the year.

"Higher sales, continued strong income growth and steady margins are a show of strength," Mr Ridderstrale said. "The weak economy in north America has affected orders received, (but) Europe has developed positively."

BT, which was acquired by Toyota Automatic Loom (TAL) in June 2000, this year expanded personnel in its European division by 200 workers to 4705, but BT Raymond in the US cut 336 employees to 2581 "to adapt to lower demand".

Mr Ridderstrale said BT had a strong market position and would continue to consolidate its role as "the world leader in warehouse trucks".