Harley Davidson earnings up

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TESS VIGELAND: Detroit automakers, as you’ve no doubt heard, are struggling mightily to turn a profit off four wheels. Meanwhile over in Milwaukee, Harley Davidson is doing just fine on two. Chuck Quirmbach has more.

CHUCK QUIRMBACH: Harley-Davidson said yesterday second quarter earnings rose three percent, pepped up by a double-digit increase in international sales.

Japan and Europe seem especially interested in the big bike with the twin-cam engine.

Analyst Tom Graves of Standard & Poor’s says the market for Harleys overseas is still relatively small compared to the US. But he says company is working to improve worldwide distribution networks.

TOM GRAVES: “There will be better opportunities for market share gains overseas and outside the US than there are in the US itself. I mean the US I see as a relatively mature market for Harley.”

In June, the company opened a dealership in China and plans to launch others in India and Vietnam.

In Milwaukee, I’m Chuck Quirmbach for Marketplace.