By Roger Renstrom

Most Industrial Truck Association (ITA) 2006 trends survey respondents think their firms will significantly decrease their supplier base over the next five years.

Fifty-eight per cent of respondents expressed that opinion, up from 24 per cent answering the question in the forklift trade group's 2005 survey.

Past ITA president Dirk von Holt presented the results on behalf of the ITA Business Trends 2006 Task Force during the association's annual meeting, on September 24-27 in Palm Beach.

"The tendency in the market is to reduce the number of suppliers," said von Holt, who is vice president of sales & marketing with Systems Material Handling Co, of Olathe, Kansas.

The percentage of survey participants expecting to add significantly to their supplier base over five years dropped to four per cent from last year's 11 per cent, and the portion anticipating the same size supplier base decreased to 38 per cent from last year's 65 per cent.

ITA manufacturing members take part in the survey.

James Moran, senior vice president of Crown Equipment Corp, New Bremen, Ohio, presented data from James Malvaso, Raymond Corp president and ITA president. A forecast based on a range of economic, employment and industry reports and surveys predicted a slight 2007 softening of sales in the civilian forklift market for the United States and Canada.

The forecast included details on the forklift market's growth. Moran said there was a sales projection of 209,498 units this year and sales of 207,612 in 2007 with "no major mix changes between classes" of trucks.

The 2006 figure was an increase of 7.7 per cent over 2005 sales of 194,475 units.