Volumes in the materials handling market had "increased significantly" in recent months and the market was showing signs of a recovery, Jungheinrich chairman Dr Cletus von Pichler has told shareholders.
Addressing Jungheinrich's annual general meeting last month, he said despite a "moderate" start to 2004, growth in April and May had positively influenced the company's orders and net sales.
Volumes in Europe had grown 7% in the first four months of 2004, rising from 83,000 to 89,000 forklifts market-wide, von Pichler said.
Jungheinrich's incoming orders rose 4% in the same period, from EUR488 million (USD604 million) to EUR507 million.
Von Pichler said that since closing its French hand-pallet truck production facility last year, Jungheinrich had obtained hand-pallet trucks from Ningbo Ruyi Joint Stock Co Ltd in China.
Jungheinrich would acquire a 25% stake in Ningbo Ruyi before the end of this year.
"We see clear signs for a growing market volume, and thus, chances for higher incoming orders and for net sales growth," he said.
"But of course, there continue to be risks deriving from the competitive environment, with ongoing high pressure on prices as well as (a) clearly significant increase in prices for materials."