Jay Gusler - optimistic

Forklift sales in the North America market fell in 2020, according to figures just released by the Industrial Truck Association (ITA).

The market decline can be partially attributed to the impact of COVID-19, with truck sales decreasing overall by 5.1% from the previous year.

"The industrial truck industry had its third-best year on record in 2019, and the sales decrease in 2020 with COVID-19 was not unexpected," says Jay Gusler, ITA chairman and executive vice president operations for Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas Group. "Our industry performed well throughout the pandemic, thanks to the essential nature of our products and the dedicated associates in our industry."

Total sales reached 230,134. Class 2 and Class 3 trucks saw a small increase from 2019 at 2.0% and 1.1% respectively. The remaining classes witnessed declines, with Class 5 seeing the largest decrease at 19.7%.

Looking forward to 2021, the industry's first quarter results are healthy, according to the association.

Meanwhile, ITA is looking forward to marking its 70th anniversary this year. Throughout the year, ITA will be posting facts and history from both the association and the forklift industry on social media.

The 70th anniversary commemorates a major milestone for the industry. "ITA members have been instrumental in leading the way with enhanced safety, engineering practices and market intelligence that has guided the industry well over the past seven decades and will continue that leadership role into the future," says Brian Feehan, president of ITA.