Hyster-Yale’s vice president of sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific and India region, Ben Newey, talks to Forkliftaction News about trends in the materials handling sector.

FLA: What trends are you seeing in the materials handling sector right now?

Newey: The materials handling sector is experiencing significant changes. E-commerce growth is pushing companies to digitalise sales processes and improve order fulfillment efficiency amid a global workforce shortage.

To address these challenges, businesses are adopting automation, robotics and machine intelligence, which boost efficiency and reduce reliance on manual labour.

With a projected shortage of warehouse space through 2030, companies are building larger warehouses with high-density storage solutions, necessitating lift trucks that can operate at greater heights.

Additionally, telematics technology is becoming essential, offering real-time data on equipment usage and maintenance.

This data helps businesses make better decisions, optimise their fleet operations and improve overall efficiency.

Together, these trends are enhancing the efficiency, productivity and adaptability of the materials handling industry.

FLA: How do you expect these trends to continue in coming years? 

Newey: The materials handling sector will continue to evolve, driven by a broader focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability initiatives.

There is a strong push from customers for energy-efficient equipment and the full electrification of operations, with some aiming for fully green operations as soon as next year.

In response, Hyster-Yale recently released a full range of outdoor electric vehicles, covering capacities from 2 to 10 tonnes.

These vehicles, which run on compact lithium-ion batteries, boast performance capabilities that matches those with traditional internal combustion engines.

This shift towards electrification not only supports our customers’ sustainability goals but also aligns with the industry's broader move towards more environmentally friendly practices.

FLA: Is Hyster-Yale doing anything to address the global labour shortage? 

Newey: Hyster-Yale’s initiatives collectively help to mitigate the impact of the labour shortage and improve workforce stability.

Addressing the global labour shortage involves two primary approaches: offering solutions that help businesses attract and retain talent through enhanced safety measures and artificial intelligence (AI) technology and also providing solutions that boost efficiency levels and reduce reliance on manual labour.

Our robotic solutions automate mundane, repetitive tasks, allowing workers to focus on more value-added activities.

Additionally, our equipment is designed with advanced ergonomics to keep operators happy and healthy.

Businesses can also leverage the factory-fitted telematics technology integrated on our Hyster and Yale lift trucks to manage equipment access and keep training up-to-date, enhancing operator efficiency and job satisfaction.

FLA: What role do you see AI playing in the materials handling sector in the next few years? 

Newey: AI is infiltrating every aspect of our lives and the materials handling sector is no different.

The adoption of AI will streamline operations by optimising warehouse layouts, managing inventory in real-time and predicting demand patterns, which will further boost efficiency and productivity.

AI will also play a crucial role in predictive maintenance by analysing data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to identify potential issues before they cause equipment failure, thereby reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

Playing to its strength, one of AI’s greatest contributions will likely be in assisting operations managers in their decision-making by providing actionable insights from large volumes of data.

This will support better logistics decisions, such as optimising supply chain routes and enhancing order fulfillment processes.

Hyster and Yale products are now available with factory-fitted AI cameras that learn the environment and detect people in the warehouse — improving efficiency over the current cumbersome systems that detect barriers, racking and bollards which will cause the trucks to slow down unnecessarily.

FLA: How fast are your customers switching to non-internal combustion engine (ICE) machines? Is there any resistance to the move towards electrification?

Newey: Electrification is a growing trend among our customers, driven by the need for sustainable operations, cost savings on fuel and the reduction of carbon emissions.

Some customers have expressed interest in transitioning to electric and non-ICE machines and they expect these machines to deliver performance comparable to ICE, with high uptime, adaptability to outdoor and uneven terrain and capability for heavy-duty tasks.

Consequently, if the performance of electric and non-ICE machines cannot meet the customers’ requirements or the customer does not have the power network, they may be reluctant to replace their existing ICE vehicles.

There may also be some resistance due to higher initial costs, concerns about battery life and charging infrastructure, as well as the handling and recycling of lithium batteries at the end of their life.

Despite these concerns, the shift towards electrification continues to gain momentum across many industries.