Two US manufacturers report positive results. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

In financial reports, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc says its sales increased 10%, and Oshkosh Corp reports an 8.9% gain for its access equipment business.

Hyster-Yale of Mayfield Heights, Ohio expects the global market for forklifts to grow moderately in the remainder of 2013 and into 2014, driven primarily by increases in the Chinese market and steady growth in the Americas.

Hyster-Yale reports profits of USD23.5 million on sales of USD643.9 million for the third quarter ended 30 September. The comparable year-earlier quarter had profits of USD24.9 million on sales of USD585.6 million.

Hyster-Yale logged higher unit volumes in the Americas and benefited from increased prices it implemented to offset weakness in the Brazilian Real. A higher tax rate - 21.9% versus 14.4% - impacted the recent quarter's profit figure.

Global unit shipments for the company's brands increased to about 21,200 units from approximately 18,000 units in the third quarter of 2012.

During the quarter, Hyster-Yale expanded its Utilev-brand series of basic low-cost forklifts by introducing a 1-to-3-ton internal combustion engine cushion tyre truck in North America and a three-wheel electric rider truck globally. Zhejiang Hangcha Import & Export Co Ltd of Hangzhou, China manufactures the forklifts.

Oshkosh's access equipment segment sales increased to USD780.6 million for the fiscal quarter ended 30 September versus USD716.8 million in the comparable prior-year quarter.

Oshkosh says the increase was principally the result of higher unit volumes in North America, realisation of previously announced price increases and higher aftermarket parts and service sales. Those results more than offset lower sales volume in Australia.

The segment's operating income increased 36.6% to USD81.2 million, or 10.4% of sales, compared to prior year fourth quarter operating income of USD59.5 million, or 8.3% of sales. JLG-brand products account for the bulk of the segment's volume.

An adverse impact involved a USD5.5-million after-tax non-cash impairment charge related to an intangible asset in the access equipment segment.

Oshkosh explains: "We recorded a USD9.0 million non-cash pre-tax impairment charge related to a trade name in the access equipment segment. Determination of the fair value of a reporting unit includes developing estimates which are highly subjective and incorporate calculations that are sensitive to minor changes in underlying assumptions. Management's assumptions change as more information becomes available. Changes in these assumptions could result in an impairment charge in the future, which could have a significant adverse impact on our reported earnings."

Company-wide for the year ended 30 September, the Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based company reports profit of USD318.0 million on fiscal-2013 sales of USD7.67 billion versus profit of USD230.8 million on fiscal-2012 sales of USD8.14 billion.