As some economies start their financial year, there was some encouraging economic news from the International Monetary Fund this week, with predictions for stronger growth in second half.
IMF head Christine Lagarde is tipping 3.6% growth in 2014 and 3.9% next year. That projection is slightly down on earlier predictions, but any good news is to be welcomed.
Lagarde is calling on governments to open the purse strings and relaunch their investments - but with an eye on public debt. And while not all economies are in a position to start spending, it's clear that any infrastructure boosts will benefit the materials handling sector. In fact, it's hard to identify an area of economic activity which, if promoted, would not impact positively on the forklift market.
We can but hope that Lagarde's advice is adopted.