The forklift market - Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

A forklift is defined as a powered operating vehicle (electric, diesel or gas) whose purpose is to lift and transfer loads in factories, warehouses or logistics depots.

The forklift market is actually a segment of the larger handling equipment industry.

There are many types of forklifts, some of which are:

• Carklift counterbalanced electric or thermal (front-end) forklift;
• Reach truck;
• Order picker trolley;
• Trilateral trolley;
• Others.

Globally, the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9% between 2021 and 2027 to a value of more than $90 billion by the end of 2027.

It is also estimated that up to 2.2 million units will be produced by 2023, this growing trend is due to the use of these operating vehicles in more and more industries.

Another trend that is driving the growth of this market certainly relates to technological advances in recent years.

In Italy, the market has been considered stable for several years. The regions that have recorded the largest number of forklift orders in recent years are those in the north, in particular in first place is Lombardy, where 11,766 forklifts were sold then Piedmont and Valle D'Aosta immediately followed by Liguria and Veneto.

As for southern Italy, a significant growth in forklift orders can be observed mainly due to the food sector.

However, it must also be kept in mind that the recent health crisis has somewhat held back this market. This negative trend is due to the shutdown of many warehouses imposed in 2020. however, it is important to keep in mind that the market trend changes according to different types of carts. It can be estimated that the demand for warehouse carts have suffered the least during this crisis while front-end carts have suffered the most.

In any case, future growth is expected demonstrated already by the significant recovery observed during 2021.