BITA president David Rowel speaking at the AGM.

Delegates at the British Industrial Truck Association's (BITA) 2013 AGM were in a good mood after hearing a positive economic forecast for the sector by Jeremy Leonard of Oxford Economics.

According to the 2013 UK Forklift Truck Market Outlook unveiled at the association's 28th AGM on 10 May, UK productivity is outstripping Germany and the US, and there is clear willingness among customers to invest in forklifts.

Introduced at the meeting by BITA president David Rowell, Leonard, head of industry services at consultancy Oxford Economics, said that capital expenditure intentions are as positive as they were in the 2000s.

"Manufacturers do have cash piles; what's missing currently is the trade upswing that will lead to consumer confidence. Overall, we have increased our 2013 output forecast for investment goods to 3%, which is good when compared to other sectors - and shows an upward revision from six months ago," he explains.

Looking at the forklift market, he added: "Warehouse is set to outperform counterbalance this year as a result of strong backlogs and activity turnaround within the distribution, transport and storage sectors. Demand for warehouse trucks has pretty much recovered to pre-recession levels and the forecasts are strong due to the growth of e-commerce - which we anticipate driving a lot of activity in coming years.

"Counterbalance is not growing as rapidly and will take another couple of years to get back to pre-recession levels due to weaker activity in its end users, such as the chemicals sector."

The Oxford Economics report also includes a survey of BITA members that revealed that while some firms are still experiencing 'softer than normal' order books, many members are increasingly optimistic about their prospects over the next 12 months.

While most of the members think general prospects will remain the same, the proportion feeling more optimistic grew to 20% from less than 10% when members were surveyed in September 2012.

Looking at their own firms' sales, respondents were even more optimistic, with 70% expecting either modest or significant growth. In contrast to September's survey, no-one is expecting a fall.

Jim Moran, president of the Industrial Truck Association in the USA, also provided some global insight into the work of the Alliance of Industrial Truck Organisations (AITO). Besides the ITA, the alliance includes the China Industrial Truck Association, the Japan Industrial Vehicle Association and the Federation Europienne de la Manutention (FEM), and works for the common interests of the sector. Moran revealed that a particular focus at the moment is lobbying for the removal of trade tariffs in markets around the world.

The 2013 AGM concluded with a tribute to BITA stalwart Derek Rice who is retiring from association business after working in the sector for over 40 years and is known to many for his influential role on the Technical Policy Committee.