BITA secretary-general James Clark

Powered pallet trucks are among forklifts with the largest sales increase in the UK for 2011, according to British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) statistics.

BITA says that orders for forklifts grew by 20% in 2011. In the year ended 31 December 2011, BITA members reported sales of 26,100 forklifts, 4,300 units more than in 2010.

Since December 2009, the industry has bounced back strongly with a 48% increase in unit orders to recover 60% of its recessionary losses.

BITA reveals that 2011 was particularly good for engine counterbalance and powered pallet trucks in the UK.

Engine counterbalance trucks accounted for over a third of all orders, with 8,800 sales in 2011, a 26% increase year-on-year. Growth was driven mainly by significant orders from the automotive and road haulage industries, and the supply chain to the construction industry, along with a renewal of several BITA members' own short-term hire fleets.

The powered pallet truck market saw a 50% year-on-year increase in 2011.

However, not all forklift classes saw a growth in unit orders last year. Fewer reach trucks, low-level order pickers and narrow-aisle trucks were ordered in 2011 than in 2010.

David Miller, chair of BITA's Statistics Committee, says the latest sales figures suggest that demand for industrial trucks, while still growing overall, is becoming more segmented than it was in 2010, when all forklift categories witnessed growth.

"This is to be expected, given the cyclical nature of fleet replenishment and the fact that industry has now satisfied much of the pent-up demand that was released following the recessionary period," Miller explains.

James Clark, secretary-general of BITA, adds: "It would be foolish to claim the general economic backdrop in the UK does not remain challenging, but there are many reasons to be positive for the year ahead.

"Warehouse and distribution centre capacity will expand to support planned supermarket store openings and the transition of other retailers to greater reliance on e-commerce.

"We may not see the same high levels of growth in forklift orders over the coming months that BITA members enjoyed in 2010 and 2011, but there is every reason to expect that market demand will continue to increase."

BITA's sales statistics overviews are published twice yearly, in February and September.

Separately, Plimsoll Publishing Ltd has reported a marked fall in loss-making UK forklift companies

Senior analyst David Pattison says in the latest Plimsoll analysis, the number of forklift companies making a loss has fallen from 264 to 189. "It's quite remarkable that so many companies have managed to rebuild their profitability during the worst trading conditions in recent memory."

However, he cautions that some of the loss-making companies are losing money for the second or third year running, and are seeing their debts rise.