MORE RTGS FOR CHARLESTON
KCI Konecranes has received an order for four 16-wheel rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) from South Carolina State Ports Authority in Charleston, USA. The new machines, with a lifting capacity of 50 tons (45.3 tonnes), a lifting height of 59 feet (18 metres) and a span of 75 feet (23 metres), will complement 21 Konecranes RTGs already in operation. The order value is about EUR5 million (USD5.95 million) and there is an option for four additional machines. The cranes will be delivered in December.

BELGIAN BATTERY PRICES SOAR
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian metal price hikes, which have been happening since the start of the year, have affected the price of lead, essential for batteries. A year ago, the price of lead fluctuated between USD400 and USD500 a ton. Today prices are as high as USD900 a ton. Members of Sigma, the Belgian federation of materials handling providers, increased industrial battery prices on April 1 using a special formula to combine earlier and current prices. Sigma says the inflated prices will disappear when lead prices fall to "normal" levels.