Forklifts are industrial material handling vehicles, referring to various wheeled handling vehicles used for loading, unloading, stacking, and short-distance transportation of palletized goods. They are widely used in ports, railway stations, airports, freight yards, factory workshops, warehouses, distribution centers, and other similar locations. They can also enter ship holds, truck beds, and containers for loading, unloading, and handling palletized goods, making them indispensable equipment for pallet and container transportation.
My country's forklift manufacturing industry emerged from a sales slump in the fourth quarter of 2009, achieving a full recovery in the domestic market in 2010 and demonstrating its strength with a leapfrog development.
According to the "2013-2017 China Forklift Manufacturing Industry Production, Sales, Demand Forecast and Transformation and Upgrading Analysis Report," in 2010, my country achieved forklift sales (including exports) of 232,409 units, a year-on-year increase of 67.31%. Of these, 22,960 were electric counterbalanced ride-on forklifts, 7,502 were electric ride-on warehouse forklifts, 22,280 were electric pedestrian warehouse forklifts, and 179,667 were internal combustion counterbalanced forklifts. Domestic sales in China reached approximately 190,000 units, a 70% increase from 111,350 units in 2009; exports totaled approximately 40,000 units, a 60% increase from 27,555 units in 2009.
My country's Forklift Overseas Market Situation
In 2007, China's forklift sales reached 139,000 units, a 30% year-on-year increase; forklift exports reached 47,000 units, a 78% year-on-year increase, accounting for approximately 34% of total sales; and the increase in exports contributed 65% to the overall sales growth.
In 2007, global forklift sales reached 907,000 units, a 10% year-on-year increase. The consumption breakdown by region is as follows: Europe accounts for approximately 40% of the global forklift market share; followed by North America (US + Canada) at approximately 21%; China's market share exceeds 11%; Japan's share is less than 10%; and the rest of the world accounts for nearly 16%.
In my country, internal combustion counterbalance forklifts account for about 80% of sales, while electric forklifts account for over 50% of global forklift sales. This is because electric forklifts have become the mainstream product in the European, American, and Japanese forklift markets. Due to factors such as lower environmental protection requirements, more frequent forklift operations, harsher operating environments, and higher operating costs in my country, forklift demand will continue to favor internal combustion forklifts for a considerable period.
The position of forklifts in the warehousing business process:(Receiving) Inbound Transportation -- Loading and Unloading -- (Storage) Temporary Storage -- Acceptance -- Warehousing -- Storage -- Periodic Inventory -- (Shipping) Outbound -- Loading and Unloading -- Shipping Transportation
