Forecasts at the Industrial Truck Association's (ITA) annual meeting indicate further market recovery is underway.

There were 265 attendees at the October 18-22 event, up from the 250 who attended last year.

A survey of ITA directors anticipated 2004 production of 155,754 units, representing a 3.17% increase from this year, said ITA president Jim Moran. ITA represents forklift manufacturers and suppliers in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Mr Moran said the ITA survey projected 2003 production of 150,967 units, up 0.41% from last year. The rate would be above the dip to 142,000 in 2001 but below the 2000 peak of 223,645.

Takeo Shibuya, president of the Japan Industrial Vehicle Association (JIVA) and president of Komatsu Forklift Inc in Tokyo, estimated 2003 forklift sales in Japan would increase 3% to 4% over the 2002 total of 68,353, but below the 2001 total of 73,917.

Hans-Peter Schmohl, president of Linde's materials handling division, reported on behalf of the industrial truck division of the Fédération Européenne de la Manutention (FEM) in Brussels, Belgium. European orders for the year ended August 31 had increased 1% to 169,000 units.

Orders increased 1.2% in Germany, to 35,000 units, and 4.2% in the United Kingdom, to 19,500. Orders decreased 4.4% in France, to 30,500 units, and 4.9% in Italy, to 23,500.

ITA's Business Trends Task Force reported industry pessimism about the possibility of European, Japanese and American manufacturers harmonising standards for hydraulic operating pressures and criteria for batteries and chargers.

Peter McDonald, of SRE Controls Inc, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, presented results of a survey of ITA manufacturing members.

Six of 15 survey participants, or 40%, thought hydraulics harmonisation might occur. Seven of 17 voting manufacturers, or 41.1%, thought harmonisation might occur for batteries and chargers.

At the same time, 14 of 17 voters, or 82.4%, thought integrated side shifters would catch on in North America.

Mr Moran's current two-year term as ITA president expires on December 31; he was also ITA's president in 1993. Mr Moran is senior vice president at Crown Equipment Corp, in New Bremen, Ohio. He will pass the gavel to ITA's incoming president, Dirk Von Holt, who is president of Jungheinrich/Multiton Corp of Richmond, Virginia.