Over the past two years, Europe, along with the rest of the developed world, has felt the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis. None of the companies Forkliftaction.com News spoke to for this report have emerged unscathed. However, as Melissa Barnett discovered, some are doing better than others.
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The forklift market is looking for greener power sources but as Forkliftaction.com News reporter Christine Cranney discovers, it may be a while before fuel cell forklifts replace battery-powered ones.
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From 50 subscribers in 2000 to 50,000 in 2010, Forkliftaction.com has come a long way since its small but ambitious start. Forkliftaction.com marks its 10th anniversary this week and Melissa Barnett looks at some of the highlights of the last 10 years, how the news service and industry portal have evolved and gives a hint at what is planned for the next decade.
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It has been six years since Forkliftaction.com has profiled the Latin American region. Since then, there have been changes in governments and economies. Latin America has weathered the Global Financial Crisis better than many other global regions and financial confidence is running high. Melissa Barnett reports.
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Containerised freight took a pounding during the global downturn, and is only now starting to recover. According to Containerisation International's World Container Census, container production slumped to just 350,000 units in 2009 - down from 4.25 million TEUs in 2007 and 3.25 million in 2008. This year, it's expected to climb back up to 1.5 million TEUs. Christine Cranney looks at some of the recent developments in large forklifts, container handlers and reach stackers as global containerisation recovers.
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The Chinese forklift market is tipped to become the world's largest this year. While the market experienced growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC), forklift manufacturers were affected. Christine Cranney reports on how the industry is faring and the challenges ahead.
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As the materials handling industry reeled from the rollercoaster ride of last year, most sectors of the industry found themselves at the bottom of the loop, but encouragingly, some found themselves a little better off. Melissa Barnett reports on one of the more buoyant sectors - the used forklift market. While new forklift sales plummeted by up to 60% last financial year, the used forklift market generally maintained financial equilibrium; many dealers worldwide reported sales actually increasing in the same period. Luis Garza, director general of Mobinsa in Mexico, says " the global financial crisis didn't have a negative impact; in fact, sales increased". Others, in both the UK and USA, have reported that although sales are up, profit margins have been reduced.
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With warehouse space at a premium worldwide, storage has become increasingly vertical and more compact. Goods are palletised for ease of storage and movement, wherever possible. Melissa Barnett reports that it is no surprise that the materials handling industry's response to consumer demand has been to develop better and more innovative designs to maximise mobility, speed of loading and available space. There are over 250 different forklift attachments available to streamline just about any materials handling function, but the increasing demands of shipping and warehousing mean that pallet-handling attachments are now seen as essential tools in any fleet.
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It has been a cautious start to the new year with many USA forklift dealers, manufacturers and service providers welcoming the ninth consecutive month of improved economic activity. Melissa Barnett reports. Economic activity, particularly in the manufacturing sector, saw across-the-board growth for the sixth consecutive month, with both new orders and production indexes above 60%, indicating strong current and future performance. The Industrial Truck Association's (ITA) past president, Stan Simpson, says that new factory orders are up 21% for the first month of 2010 compared to the same time last year. The National Bureau of Economic Research believes the recession most likely reached its nadir in June to August, 2009 and has predicted 2010 GDP growth of 2.6% - traditionally enough of a rise to kick-start expansion in the forklift market. Many of the people Forkliftaction.com interviewed for this report predicted a conservative growth in equipment sales of between 4% and 10% over 2010. Ilidio Alves, director of marketing for Nissan Forklift Corporation, believes that the US forklift market could realistically achieve 100,000 unit sales in 2010. This is particularly encouraging given that 2009 produced sales figures not seen since the mid-1980s. Don Chance, president of sales at Nacco Materials Handling Group (NMHG), notes last year was a tough year with the overall US forklift market down more than 50% from its 2006 level. "The numbers we saw for the industry were 92,000 units for 2009, compared to nearly 208,000 units for 2006. This has made for a very challenging business environment."
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Telehandlers are counterbalanced forklifts with telescopic booms that can achieve tasks that are beyond the abilities of straight-masted forklifts. As Christine Cranney reports, built to traverse rough terrain and reach far and high, in and out of buildings, ships and trains, it is no mere marketing hype when their makers call them flexible and versatile machines.
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