The world market for used materials handling machinery is divided into world regions, and there is a marked definition between the retail and wholesale markets.
Welcome to part one of Forkliftaction.com News's special features on used equipment. This month we'll report on trends and issues in the world market, but today we focus on the used forklift and materials handling machinery market in the USA and, particularly, Continental Lift Truck.
Forkliftaction.com News spoke to one of the wholesale industry's legends, Douglas Tamasi, founder and president of Continental Lift Truck, based in Jordan, near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr Tamasi has been in the industry since 1969.
He estimates that, for every new forklift sold in the USA, two used machines find new homes. If you consider the US consumed more than 150,000 new forklifts a year, the used market is delectable American pie.
Continental, one of the USA's biggest wholesale forklift sellers, moved 1500 forklifts last year. An electrics specialist, half the company's sales are electric forklifts and materials handling equipment. International sales, which were non-existent in 2001, accounted for 10% of sales last year.
For Mr Tamasi, fluctuations in the world economy, created by terrorism, war and the poor performance of the US dollar, are like water off a duck's back. For industry-threatening crises, he rates the US interest rate wars of the early 1980s as the worst.
In fact, in terms of business potential, economic crises usually meant good news for the wholesale used market. Example: 2002, regarded as a very difficult year for machinery markets, was one of Continental's best.
"The used equipment market operates conversely to the retail economy. When the economy is slow, buyers look to used machinery as an alternative to buying new equipment," Mr Tamasi said.
"The market has its lulls, like anything else, but they're not as drastic as in the new equipment market, nor are they dictated by the same influences."
Ninety-nine percent of Continental's business is wholesaling machinery to used equipment dealers, the market's retail arm.
"Our core business is supplying dealers, and we've built quality, long-term relationships with customers across the country," Mr Tamasi said.
While stocks of base forklifts around the world were healthy, specialty equipment was hard to come by. That's partly why the company has received international orders.
"We're selling some equipment into South America, but the real surprise has been the reception we've had in Europe. People are calling, looking for specific types of machines," Mr Tamasi said.
"I think the crash of the US dollar has encouraged a lot of international buyers to come looking."
For 2004, Mr Tamasi is confident of achieving 15% growth.
"We've elevated our branding and appointed more salespeople, and the results so far have been stunning," he said. "Our financial year ends in November, and we've had a record four months since last year."