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Above: The global forklift market is growing
“Some external market factors, including ongoing geopolitical instability (as evidenced by recent tensions in the Red Sea), continue to bring significant uncertainty to the global economic outlook,” the analyst said. “Due to this and unusually high growth from 2020-2022, global market activity declined in 2023, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. However, there was still a mild recovery in the fourth quarter of last year.”
In its latest report, The Global Forklift
Market – 2023, Interact Analysis reveals new business revenue for major forklift companies grew by 21% year-on-year during the first three-quarters of 2023 to reach US$19.5bn, significantly higher than the 5.2% recorded for the same period of 2022.
In its most recent update, Interact Analysis notes that Q4 2023, order volumes in the North American market saw a significant increase, witnessing an “historical peak” in sales, particularly for counterbalance trucks, which saw sales surge by 52%. Meanwhile, Grand View Research has a much punchier set of figures, putting the value of the global forklift market at US65.16bn in 2023 and projecting a
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compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5% from 2024 to 2030. The pace of the market growth is accelerating, says the report, and is characterised by a high degree of innovation, including the advent of autonomous vehicle technology in material handling, which is expected to open up new avenues for market growth.
Demand for electric forklifts has been surging in recent years and while Grand View Research says that the lead-acid segment held the largest revenue share of 66.7% in 2023, it adds that the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is expected to record the strongest growth up to 2030.
Interact Analysis predicts China and several countries in Europe will achieve a 50% electrification rate for forklifts as early as 2025. The global market share of Li-ion models is anticipated to surpass 50% in 2030, with Class 3.1 predicted to be the first category to achieve over 50% electrification. Staying with electric forklifts but focusing on Europe, Spherical Insights puts the segment’s market value at US$15.28bn in 2022 and says it’s growing at a CAGR of 12.26% from 2022 to 2032.
Spherical Insights’ analysts say the electric
55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10%
QI Q2 2021 2022 Q3 2023 Q4
forklift market in Europe is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period and that market size is expected to reach US$48.9bn by 2032.
The report says the drivers of growth in the industry in Europe are “stringent pollution restrictions, the requirement for operating efficiency, and the growing emphasis on sustainability”.
It adds that a boost in building projects in the region – and growing demand for construction equipment in countries such as the UK, Germany and France – are fuelling the expansion of the electric forklift sector. And it adds that “compact pallet trucks with optimum mobility in warehouses is likely to drive the expansion”. When it comes to battery type, Spherical Insights agrees with Grand View Research that Li-ion is witnessing higher growth over the forecast period than lead-acid, hydrogen fuel cell and others. And it says that rising R&D spending on materials and chemicals is a major driver for the rapid drop in Li-ion battery prices and that this is likely to benefit manufacturers in the launch of higher-efficiency and low-cost forklifts. ■
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2021 Edition
2022 Edition
Above left: Revenues from new truck business for major public vendors SOURCE: INTERACT ANALYSIS Above right: Global Li-ion forklift penetration rate, 2022-2030 SOURCE: INTERACT ANALYSIS
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2024 | TTJ 2023 Edition
Revenues ($M)
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