Bomag last week announced an across-the-board price increase of 15 percent in the United Kingdom, effective June 1. The 15-percent increase applies to the full range of Bomag light and heavy compaction products including landfill compactors and Bomag milling and paving equipment for the road construction market.

The increase is a direct result of the shift in the value of the pound against the Euro. In the last 2 years the pound has averaged €1.12 with a high of €1.50 and a low of €1.01. The current rate is €1.12 to the pound at the Interbank rate.

Most pundits expect the exchange rate to settle at the €1.25 to the pound level. The U.K. market for construction equipment was the largest in Western Europe in 2007 but demand has fallen away. The current market, for a broad range of construction equipment, is down by 70 percent year on year.