Forklift sales continue to boom

Forklifts and warehouse equipment are still on the rise. For the second year in a row, the sector is posting a record year, although growth in this segment appears to be stabilizing. That's according to figures from Sigma, the federation of importers of construction and material handling equipment. Sales ticked off at 12,765 trucks sold in 2018, 178 units or 1.4% more than the previous year. The growth rate in Europe is a lot higher though (7.2%).

No cucumber time for Sigma, the federation of construction and material handling equipment importers. The summer months are the traditional time to present the annual figures. That happened against the backdrop of Antwerp's Port House. And the report was particularly good for the sector as the record year 2017 fell at the first attempt. The material handling section (which includes forklifts and warehouse equipment) saw its sales rise by 7.8% to 657.5 million euros. Overall, Belgian distributors sold 12,765 trucks, still 1.4 % higher than a year earlier. Chairman of the material handling section at Sigma Hugues Van Espen was therefore a proud man. "Never before has the Belgian market reached that level. We have more than doubled since 2008." Incidentally, the figures relate only to European brands. Including the Chinese, the number of machines sold is close to 16,000.

Fewer electric forklifts

It was also notable that within the forklift segment (4,848 trucks, accounting for a 38% share of material handling), it was not electric motorization that recorded growth. On the contrary, sales of electric forklifts actually declined slightly by 4.2%. Nevertheless, it continues to hold the largest market share (58%). The number of thermal trucks sold did go in crescendo (7.6%), but mainly the LPG versions that gained by 14%. Diesel trucks recorded an increase of 5.8%. Sigma does expect the trend toward more electric to continue in the coming year. In the warehouse truck segment, the advance of electric motorizations was more evident. Overall figures for warehouse trucks showed an upward movement of 2% to 7,917 units. But it was mainly the electric pallet trucks that were the driving force in this, doing 8% better than the previous year.

Scarcity of service technician brakes growth

Still, all was not rosy at the meeting. Since the market only grew by 178 units, the industry federation expects the ceiling to be reached for now. The fact that billing sales still remain good is mainly due to longer delivery times. Sigma is therefore counting on further stabilization for the coming year, not a recession. Issues of concern are political uncertainty (Brexit, own government negotiations) and the trade war between China and the United States. The biggest drag on growth in the equipment sector is finding good service technicians. Sigma president Dries Van Haut: "Young people are less willing than before to make extra efforts for their employer. Their own quality time comes first. That means there are no more candidates for these jobs. Combined with the record sales of machines, this creates an enormous workload for existing employees. The industry therefore pushed for maximum flexibility to voluntarily work overtime during the recent social negotiations."