Welcome to part one of Forkliftaction.com's overview of the forklift market in the UK.
This month Forkliftaction.com's editorial team has drawn on many sources to document this snapshot of the UK market.
The UK is one of the most highly developed, mature markets in the world, and not just in materials handling. This complex industry has many facets: manufacturing and development, sales, rentals, exports and logistics management.
Few forklift manufacturers with UK operations are headquartered in the UK; many report to head offices in other countries, such as Europe and the USA. However, the operations of, for instance, Linde and Toyota, the world's two largest forklift makers, operate very much as stand-alone businesses. Part two of this series, to be published on December 18, will focus on market developments, including important acquisitions and company news.
Let's look at the figures. According to British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) figures, this year will be the biggest for UK forklift sales since 2000, when more than 27,000 new forklifts entered the market. The latest figures available were current to June 2003, but already by then 14,900 forklifts had been ordered, delivering a record six months and the promise of an annual total nearing 30,000.
In the second quarter more than 7,000 forklifts were ordered, 58% of which were counterbalance machines. Of those, 21% were diesel counterbalance machines, followed closely by electric counterbalance forklifts with 20% and LPG (gas) counterbalance forklifts, commanding 17% of orders. These were followed by powered pallet trucks (16%), reach trucks (11%), "other electric trucks" (9%) and low-level order pickers (6%).
Research by Marketing & Business Development, which looked at sales trends from 1999 to 2008, found the UK forklift market achieved total sales of GBP302 million (USD520.9 million) in 2002, and was expected to reach GBP334 million (USD576 million) for calendar 2003.
The report anticipates year-on-year growth of 8% each year from 2004, with annual sales reaching GBP365 million (USD629 million) by 2008.
On the administrative side, the UK forklift market is covered by three associations: the BITA, the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA), and their parent association, the British Materials Handling Federation (BMHF), Britain's industry representative to the Federation Européenne de la Manutention (FEM).
BITA (pronounced "byta"), founded in 1948, represents about 70 materials handling manufacturers, importers and suppliers. BITA has a lower public profile than the FLTA (it is trying to remedy this through its Truck User Group and other initiatives), but acts as an advocate and statistical book-keeper for the industry.
The FLTA is the higher-profile, public face of the industry. Essentially a safety authority, the association, in its own words "exists to maintain and raise standards" in the materials handling industry. The FLTA's membership includes manufacturers, importers, distributors, dealers and suppliers of materials handling equipment.
While BITA and the FLTA operate separately and independently, the associations joined forces in October when they launched thorough examination (TE), promoted by them as "the biggest safety advance in years" (
Forkliftaction.com #133).
Administered by Consolidated Fork Truck Services (CTFS), a joint venture between the FLTA and BITA, TE is an at least 12-monthly safety inspection for all forklifts operating in the UK.
TE is a requirement of the Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER 98) and the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER 98).
The UK is the venue for next year's biggest materials handling show. IMHX 2004 has has been front of mind for the industry since CeMAT, the world's largest show, changed its cycle to a triennial format, skipping 2004.
This means IMHX 2004, at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre from March 2 to March 4, is the most significant materials handling date on the calendar next year. More than 90% of all UK forklift suppliers are exhibiting, according to organisers, and visitor numbers are expected to greatly eclipse the 16,000 who attended the inaugural event in 2001.
This concludes part one of Forkliftaction.com's coverage of the UK forklift market. Stay tuned for part two on December 18, which will feature interviews with key players and commentary on significant developments in the industry this year.