Silk Road paves way for heavy industry

Finally signs of life emerge in a sector suffering sales collapse after 2011

After five years of falling revenue, forecourts overcrowded with unsold machinery and idle factories, China's push to build a modern-day Silk Road is fueling a recovery for the country's heavy equipment industry, according to executives from many companies gathered in Shanghai in late November.

Construction equipment makers - a proxy for China's infrastructure, resources and construction sectors - suffered a plunge in sales after 2011, as commodity prices collapsed.