Forklift News - BITA predicts significant downturn

An engineer inspects a forklift in a UK warehouse.

The British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) predicts an extended and significant downturn for the forklift industry.

At its 2009 AGM last month, the association revealed the key points in its economic forecast report authored by Oxford Economics.

According to the report, the forklift industry’s performance is directly linked to the retail and manufacturing industries, and will only bounce back when the latter recover.

Secondly, "unprecedented falls" in shipments and orders across all forklift classes for 2009 are expected. Moderate growth is forecast for 2010, but a stronger rebound could occur in 2011 as the economic recovery gathers pace, the report says.

Compared to 2008, counterbalanced forklift shipments are expected to drop by 47.4% while class two forklift shipments will fall by 49.5% and class three forklift shipments by 42.6%.

Business guru Cathy Bennett offered tips for surviving the economic slump at the AGM.

Bennett said above all, a positive mindset is the key to surviving and thriving. "I believe in consistently applying the basics, sticking to what you are good at and then making sure you deliver what you promise."

She reminded industry members to prepare for the industry’s recovery by creating innovative solutions for customers to get ahead of the competition.

James Clark, BITA secretary general, says of the study: "When we invested in this economic forecasting service for members, we knew it would be an invaluable tool for helping the industry predict, plan towards and prepare themselves for the future. I believe the current economic situation now validates our investment."

BITA president Richard Close, also CEO of Briggs Equipment, reinforced the role of the association’s technical policy committee (TPC) at the meeting. Chaired by Derek Rice of Electrofit-Zapi, the committee safeguards the forklift industry from unsuitable EU directives.

A recent proposal regarding the height of control pedals developed for road-going haulage trucks could have been applied to forklifts. However, the TPC intervened to ensure the proposal did not become legislation.

"I would go so far as to say that the forklift industry could not function without BITA’s TPC acting to soften inappropriate and unworkable rules," Close says.

The TPC meets twice a year and is engaged with key international standard-setting bodies including
the British Standards Institution, the European Committee for Standardization, the International Standards Organisation, and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

BITA’s board currently consists of Richard Close (Briggs), president; Tim Waples (Doosan), vice president; Bob Hine, technical consultant; Bill Goodwin (Jungheinrich), CFTS director; Andrew Daly (Linde), truck suppliers group director; Tony Wheeler (REMA), component suppliers group chairman; Derek Rice, TPC chairman; David Rowell (Hyster), FEM/BMHF representative; Simon Emery (Crown), IMHE director and CFTS director; Steve Hodkinson (Toyota Material Handling), finance director and BITA and CFTS director; and James Clark , secretary-general and IMHE director.

At the BITA Ball after the AGM, guests raised nearly GBP2,500 (USD3777.50) for the RNLI, Help for Heroes and the County Air Ambulance Trust.

BITA is a trade association representing 82 forklift manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and media operating in the UK.

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