Rhys Herbert, senior economist at Oxford Economics

The British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) has revealed signs of recovery in the UK forklift market at its 2010 AGM held this month.

Shipments of counterbalance forklifts are expected to jump 1.8% to 8,500 compared to 2009, while warehouse forklift shipments are expected to increase by 6.8% to 8,900. Counterbalance forklift orders are predicted to rise 15.3% to 9,800 and orders of warehouse forklifts by 7.8% to 9,766.

The predictions are contained in the Economic Forecast, prepared for BITA by independent consultancy Oxford Economics, which is available to the association's members.

According to BITA, the UK forklift market contracted sharply in 2009 - shipments fell by over 41% and bookings were down nearly 34% as demand declined in the first half of the year and the later part of 2008.

At the end of 2009, bookings for counterbalance forklifts decreased by 41% and shipments were down by 44.9%. Warehouse forklift bookings and shipments declined by 24.5% and 36.6% respectively.

James Clark, BITA's secretary general, says the independent report provides a "strongly optimistic counterpoint" at a time when investment intentions remain weak and business sentiment is still fragile.

"We're heartened by the positive trends evident in our latest Economic Forecast, both in terms of specific economic measures and indicators like the Purchasing Managers' Survey, CBI Business Optimism and UK Manufacturing Investment Intentions."

BITA's AGM included a detailed presentation of the latest global sales statistics and an overview of the North American market from Jeff Rufener, president of the Industrial Truck Association.

BITA will promote UK materials handling expo IMHX with Quartz Publishing and Exhibitions this year. The trade show is at the NEC Birmingham on November 16-19.