Exports fuel German record

VDMA, the German construction equipment manufacturers' association, has reported that its members posted, as a combined total, a 15% increase in sales to €9.9 billion (US$11 billion) for 2005. The figure, which is a record, was driven by exports, which contributed to around 75% of the total. The biggest buyer of German equipment was the US, followed by Western Europe and China.

On the domestic front a 6% rise in construction equipment sales, to €2.5 billion ($3 billion) was reported.

Looking ahead to 2006, VDMA forecast a 3% increase in German sales and a 10% rise in export. The double-digit rise in international sales will be fuelled by growth in the Middle East, Russia, China and India, VDMA said. Christof Kemmann, VDMA president, said that the growth in exports was “extraordinary”.