East of Causeway Road, New Orleans, taken by an internet photo site member, "danakay".

by US correspondent Roger Renstrom
Forklift manufacturers and dealers face adjustments and dislocations in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita hitting Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the USA.

"For a lot of our customers in the southern Gulf [of Mexico] states, there is going to be a lot of refreshment of their fleets with repair and replacement because of the amount of machines for all suppliers that have been lost" to storm damage, JLG Industries Inc chairman Bill Lasky said.

JLG planned to "move deliveries for northern customers back to accommodate needs for customers in the Gulf region," Jim Woodward, JLG chief financial officer, said.

The industry faced increased demand because of the 2004 hurricanes in Florida, and McConnellsburg-based JLG was anticipating similar short-term results from the 2005 hurricanes.

Crown Equipment Corp, of New Bremen, Ohio, USA, was also affected.
"Crown is doing what it can to respond to the immediate needs of those impacted by Hurricane Katrina," said Joe Ritter, director of marketing & product management.

"For example, Crown has the industry's largest used and rental equipment fleet in North America. We have deployed, and will continue to deploy, that fleet in support of those customers with urgent needs."

Employees of Raymond Corp, in Greene, New York, USA, along with matching funds from the corporation, raised USD50,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief, said Kevin Trenga, manager of marketing & communications.

The money benefited the American Red Cross and included a special fund for employees of Malin Integrated Handling Solutions & Design in the hard-hit city of Harahan, Louisiana. Malin is a Raymond dealership.