Materials equipment handling manufacturer Manitou reported an increase in its operating profit margin to 6.7% from 6.0% in 2018 despite its U.S. operations facing a “labor shortage and a customs tariff increase”. The firm had applied for exemptions from U.S. duties on Chinese exports – including for forklift truck parts and smaller components including flywheels and gears – but like most others was unsuccessful. Any further tariff pain should prove manageable given China only represented 7.7% of its U.S. seaborne imports in 2018. Furthermore most of the parts it imports from China to the...