A number of new resources have been made available and events will be held to mark National Forklift Safety Day on June 9, which is held across the US and UK.

Held annually on the second Tuesday of June, the day of awareness was started by the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) in the US in 2014, before being introduced to the UK by the British Industrial Truck Association in 2019.

This year, the ITA will host a hybrid event so people can attend either in person or virtually, at the National Press Club in Washington.

The line-up on speakers at the event includes president of the ITA, Brian Feehan, ITA board chair and senior VP with Crown Equipment Corporation Jim Mozer and Carl Modesette, director – Americas design center, Logisnext Americas, along with David Keeling, US Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA.

“National Forklift Safety Day serves as a critical annual platform for forklift manufacturers to highlight the safe use of material handling equipment, the vital importance of rigorous operator training, and the necessity of daily equipment inspections,” the ITA states.

Brian Feehan, ITA president adds: “As the material handling landscape rapidly adopts new technologies and automated solutions, the human element remains our most critical asset”.

“Hosting the 13th annual National Forklift Safety Day allows our industry to realign on the fundamentals: comprehensive operator education and proactive daily equipment checks.

“Safety cannot be a secondary priority; it must be incorporated directly into the culture of every warehouse, manufacturing floor and distribution centre across the country.”

The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA), now oversees the annual campaign in the UK, and states forklift technicians are being injured at work, “more often than not due to everyday tasks like manual handling or poor site conditions”.

“UKMHA’s National Forklift Safety Day (NFSD) 2026 is focused on tackling this head-on, by equipping businesses and technicians with the knowledge and training they need to be safer around the workplace,” the industry body states.

“We’re providing three resources designed to help reduce risks and maintain safe working environments for forklift truck technicians. The aim is to sharply lower the number of on-site accidents. 

“These resources include the Safe Working Area Charter, a Site Induction Check Sheet, and an Animation outlining what should happen when a technician arrives.”