The global forklift market grow is expected to expanding at a noteworthy CAGR of 3.02% over the forecast period 2020 to 2027 and is projected to hit around USD 27.89 billion by 2027.
Rising security & safety concern for the workers those performing transporting and lifting task of heavy materials drives the demand for forklift. Further, rise in e-commerce shopping platform that boosted the inventory size for the industry players and thus propels the growth of the market. With increase in the distribution centers and warehouses by e-commerce giants, thus need for advanced devices for transportation and loading heavy products augment the market revenue. E-commerce and third party logistics (3PL) companies are significantly deploying forklifts in their distribution centers and warehouses to provide easy handling of products and fast delivery to the customers. In 2018, the total spending on e-commerce was reported as USD 2.3 Tn and estimated to surpass a value of USD 4.5 Tn by 2021.
However, high cost associated with the application of battery-powered and fuel cell forklifts along with pollution concerns from gasoline and diesel operated forklifts restrain the market growth. Nonetheless, improvement in industrial sector in Middle East & Africa region expected to offer lucrative growth to the market in the coming years.
Type Insights
Rough terrain segment led the global forklift market in 2019 with significant revenue share. The rough terrain forklifts are designed to work on unpaved or rough surfaces. They are generally used at construction sites or military operations. They have large pneumatic tires powered by internal combustion engine, thus they have greater lifting capacity. In addition, they can have vertical tower that lifts load straight up and out from the machine base. The aforementioned benefits and large number of applications drives the growth of rough terrain forklift segment.
Propulsion Insights
Electric forklifts expected to register the fastest growth over the forecast period owing to stringent emission norms imposed by governments of various regions. For instance, in 2016, European Parliament adopted Stage V Standard that has strict limits on the emission of particulate matters from non-road equipment and engines. In addition, ease of automation in the electric-powered or battery-powered triggers the demand for electric forklifts especially in the industrial sector.
Operation Insights
In 2019, manual forklifts acquired maximum revenue share in the global forklift market. Industrial and construction sites have trained workers to operate the forklift. Besides this, increasing number of accidents at workplaces has triggered the consumers to shift towards autonomous forklifts.
In addition, autonomous forklifts are integrated with advanced software for warehouse management and trace and trace solutions. Sensors in the system help them to prevent collision. Autonomous forklifts are the most preferred initiative towards industrial automation. Above factors conclude, accelerating growth of autonomous forklifts in the coming years.
Application Insights
Industrial segment dominated the global forklift market with nearly half of the revenue share in 2019. The prominent growth of the segment is mainly due to the large number of adoption of forklifts in manufacturing and industrial sector. For bulk product handling several manufacturers have adopted forklifts. In addition, advancement in forklift such as integrated automation and management software along with sensors has accelerated the forklifts adoption rate in the industrial segment.
On the contrary, logistics segment seeks lucrative growth opportunities in the forklift market owing to increasing trend of online shopping and e-commerce platforms. Presently, purchasing trend has changed from offline to online especially of consumer driven products such as consumer electronics, food & beverages, cosmetics, cloths, and other products. This has surged the inventory of any industrial sector, leading to increasing the need for inventory management software and tools, forklift is among them.
Regional Insights
Regionally, the global forklift market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, MEAN, Latin America. Asia Pacific region is accounted largest market with a revenue share of 40% in 2020.
The Asia Pacific and Europe projected to offer opportunistic market growth during the forecast period. Rising trend for industrial automation in several manufacturing industries have triggered the lucrative growth in the regions. Those ASEAN and European countries where industrial revolution is still in its upcoming phase offer magnificent growth aspects for the adoption of autonomous forklifts in the industrial and logistics sectors.
Key Companies & Market Share Insights
The global forklift market is largely driven by product innovation and strategic alliances between market players, for example merger & acquisition, collaboration, and joint venture agreements to enhance their services. For instance, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. acquired Zhejiang Maximal Forklift Co., Ltd. in June 2018. The acquisition helped Hyster-Yale Materials Handling to expand its regional presence in utility & standards market mainly in China.
Some of the prominent players in the forklift market include:
Scope of the Forklift Market Report
| Report Coverage | Details |
| Market Size | USD 27.89 Billion by 2027 |
| Growth Rate | CAGR of 3.1% from 2021 to 2027 |
| Bae Year | 2020 |
| Historic Data | 2017 to 2020 |
| Forecast Period | 2021 to 2027 |
| Segments Covered | Type, Propulsion, Operation, Application |
| Regional Scope | North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, MEAN, Latin America |
| Companies Mentioned | Komatsu Ltd., Hyster-Yale Material Handling Inc., Mitsubishi Forklift Corporation, Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd, Toyota Industries Corporation, KION Group AG, Anhui Heli Co. Ltd, Crown Equipment Corporation, Comblift Limited |
Segments Covered in the Report
This report analyses and projects market revenue and growth trend at global, regional, and country levels and offers an analysis of the modern industry developments in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2027. The global forklift market has been classified on the basis of type, propulsion, operation, class, application, and region:
By Type
By Propulsion
By Operation
By Class
By Application
By Regional Outlook
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