By Luc De SmetThe Belgian materials handling market came close to a record year in 2015, according to figures from Sigma, the Belgian federation of importers of materials for public and private works, construction and materials handling.
The latest report from the association shows growth of 7.9% in 2015, with 9,727 trucks sold - that is 712 trucks more than in 2014. The value of the sales was EUR522 million (USD576 million) - up 11%.
After recovering from the 39.8% loss of 2009 and 2% fall in 2012, the materials handling industry has had three successive years of growth. Sales for 2105 approached 2007 levels, when a record 9,846 trucks were sold.
Sales of forklifts grew 5.9% from 3,271 to 3,465: 2,005 electric forklifts were sold (1,866 in 2014), 353 gas/LPG trucks (12.6% down from 404 in 2014) and 1,107 diesel units (1,001 in 2014).
Electric forklifts grew 7.5%, IC forklifts grew 3.9% and warehouse trucks added 9%.
Earlier trends were also continued in the latest figures: sales of warehouse trucks grew faster than forklifts and the share of electric trucks grew faster than that of IC trucks. Currently, 58% of forklifts sold in Belgium are electric.
Sales of warehouse trucks reached an all-time high in 2015, with 6,262 units sold - an increase of 9% from 2014 and exceeding sales in the 2008 record year (5,744 units). There is growth in all but one sub-segment: 782 reachtrucks (+6.8%), 3,032 pallet trucks (+2.5%), 1,548 stackers (29.2%), and 423 others (+24%). Horizontal order pickers were the one area of falling sales (477, -7.2%)
The first trimester of 2016 shows a slight increase in the total market. Sigma, with 27 members in the forklift sector, expects sales in 2016 to at least match those of 2015.