The Top 10 Lift Truck Suppliers in 2013
While increases in truck sales in 2010 and 2011 remained higher than expected, these sales tapered off in 2012, dropping from 37% in 2011 to just a fraction of a per cent in 2013. This tapering off can be correlated to a decline in the economy, meaning that even a small growth is above expectations.
Experts have stated that the decrease in growth rate is a good thing, as it is more stable than the growth of previous years. It reflects smarter practices on both the parts of the manufacturers and the buyers of lift trucks, meaning that the purchase of a forklift has become a more measured and researched decision.
Owners of large fleets of lift trucks have extended the life cycle of their lift trucks, with a much heavier focus on maintenance and utilization of existing resources, rather than the purchase of a new truck every year or so. This translates to much more sustainable growth than that of previous years, which protects the market from fluctuations that can cause instability and poor sales in the future.
As the decrease in sales over 2012 means that sales has reached a plateau, most of the top 20 manufacturers remained relatively immune to the decrease in growth. Of the 20 manufacturers that reported their revenues, only three saw a decline in sales over more than two years. So while the overall growth has stabilised, the top 20 manufacturers have reported an increase in revenue of 11.8%, a $3.2 billion increase over 2011.
Sales by Region
Different regions have reported different rates of growth, orders and sales. Africa boasted the strongest growth in 2012, with a 15% increase in orders and shipments. This means that approximately 20,000 units were shipped to the continent in 2012 – a strong increase over 2011.
Oceania also boasted impressive growth with approximately 22,000 units shipped, which is 15% more than the previous year.
The United States had an increase of 180,000 shipments from 160,000 in the previous year, while the rest of the Americas contributed another 40,000 units shipped. This translates to a 6% increase in shipments for both North and South America.
Only Asia and Europe saw declines in orders and shipments, with orders falling about 4-6% and shipments reduced by 2%. However, Asia proved its dominance in manufacturing, shipping 39% of global shipments – the largest of all major producing countries.
Sales by Manufacturer
Toyota Industries Corporation retained their dominance of the lift truck market, with revenues up by 16.6%.
Kion Group retained second place, with revenues of $6.25 billion. Jungerich retained third place with 4.6% growth, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling survived a 1% drop in revenues to place 4th. Crown Equipment increased revenue by 4.8% to a reported $2.2 billion.
A merger between Nissan Forklift and TCM resulted in UniCarriers, which placed 6th in revenue, with $1.9 billion in 2012. Japan’s Komatsu came in 7th with the largest growth of any manufacturer in the year at 27%. Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift lost 7% in revenues over the year, dropping them down to 8th place. Ahnui Forklifts from China placed 9th with a small drop of 3.4% in revenue, while Mitsubishi Nichiyu Forklift eked into 10th place with 9% growth.
The top 5 manufacturers have retained their positions, further reflecting the stability of the market for 2012.