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Top 20 lift truck suppliers, 2014

Our list grows top heavy following another big merger, but after a year of relative calm, the market is
heating up once again.

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By Josh Bond, Associate Editor

August 01, 2014
The past few years have been a roller coaster for the lift truck industry, which has proved innovative and resilient enough
to rapidly overcome the tumult of the Great Recession. But the market is a far cry from its pre-downturn self, as fleet
management and a proliferation of new technologies have reshaped how lift trucks are procured and used. Thankfully for
all stakeholders, the market is now enjoying increased stability, as evidenced in Moderns annual list of the Top 20 lift truck
suppliers.

Brian Butler, chairman of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) and president and CEO of Linde Material Handling North
America, says last years strong 5% growth in unit sales is on track for a repeat performance. But the transactions will look
very different as fleet owners increasingly value and quantify the impact of a lift truck on the entire business. Butler
suggests the changing and deepening relationship between suppliers and end-users is not unique to the lift truck market.
Customers are becoming smarter about materials handling in general, Butler says. They will continue to be diligent
about managing their businesses, but 2009 opened a lot of peoples eyes. Theyre looking harder at a huge wealth of
opportunities and longer-term solutions.
Traditionally, a business might spend in some areas and squeeze others, Butler says. Lift trucks were often among the
first places to see spending cuts, but increased visibility into total cost of ownership has exposed the true costs of
maintaining aging equipment. Investment in a fleet is a way to improve productivity, Butler says. We find some
customers are buying units earlier or in greater numbers because they can actually see savings while improving
productivity. For those who havent bought a lift truck in the last five years, there are a lot of things they might not be
aware of, but all OEMs are prepared to have those discussions.
Growth by region
The Worldwide Industrial Truck Statistics (WITS) organization tracks quarterly and monthly statistics on lift truck sales,
and is compiled by six trade groups based in North America, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Europe and China. According to the
2013 WITS figures, global orders increased by 7% from 944,405 to 1,009,777. This follows a 3% decline in orders in
2012. Shipments were up 5% after staying level from 2011 to 2012.

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Since 2008, shipments to the Asia region have increased 46%, while shipments to the Americas rose 6% over the same
period. Europes shipments have yet to recover from the losses of the recession, with shipments down a total of 21%
since 2008. Globally, shipments are up 7% in the last seven years. Highlights of the 2013 WITS figures include:

The Americas posted the strongest growth in shipments at 238,455 units, up more than 8% year over year and following a
6% increase last year. According to figures from the ITA, 172,073 units of Class 1 through 5 lift trucks were United States
sales, as compared to 153,083 units in 2012, an increase of more than 12%.

After a near 15% growth rate in orders and shipments last year, Africa has fallen by 6% and 5% respectively. A total of
18,903 units were shipped to African countries in 2013.

In Oceania (Australia and nearby islands), shipments were also up better than 15% in 2012, but have since fallen by 6% to
just 20,835 units in 2013.

After Asia saw a slight decline for 2012 in orders (-4.4%) and shipments (-2.6%), in 2013 the region saw the largest
increase in orders (10.6%) and second-largest increase in shipments (8%). Shipments to the region totaled 394,054,
accounting for 40% of global shipments.

Europes orders fell 6% in 2012, but held relatively level in 2013 with shipments down less than half a percent and orders
up 1.6%.

The Top 10
With revenues up 12%, Toyota Industries Corp. is once again No. 1 on our list, pulling further ahead of Kion Group.
Toyotas revenues of $7.7 billion are $1.6 billion more than Kions $6.11 billion, with the leaders revenues 26% larger. In
2011, Toyota was 5% ahead of Kion.
Outlining the factors behind the increased revenues, Toyota executives cited the 2013 acquisition of Cascade Corp., a
major manufacturer of lift truck attachments, and the launch of the new Toyota 8-Series lift truck line with new large
capacity models and two new engines. These activities led to an increase in unit sales worldwide, a statement released
by Toyota said. The markets in China and North America registered growth, the European market showed a recovery,
and the Japanese market maintained solid sales.

Though Kions 2013 revenues dipped slightly, the numbers follow 12% growth of nearly three quarters of a billion dollars
between 2011 and 2012. In a statement, Gordon Riske, CEO of the Kion Group, said we now want to take advantage of
the economic recovery in Western Europe, expand our excellent position in emerging markets, further strengthen sales
and service and increase our profitability yet again. New products and our successful modular and platform strategy will
play a key role in this respect.
The rest of the top five held their rankings from last year, with Jungheinrich ranking third after posting 5% growth to $3.16
billion. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling again ranked fourth, and following a slight drop in revenues in 2012 has bounced
back with 8% growth to $2.66 billion. Crown Equipment rounded out the top 5 with 9% growth to $2.4 billion.
In its first appearance on our list, Mitsubishi Nichiyu claimed sixth place with $1.96 billion. The company previously
reported separately as Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift (ranked eighth last year) and Nippon Yusoki (ranked tenth last year).
The companies individual revenues last year totaled $2.3 billion. Reporting jointly, the company bumps UniCarriers down
one position and makes room for Hangcha to join the Top 10.
Seventh-place finisher UniCarriers is the result of a 2012 merger between Nissan Forklift and TCM, who have previously
been ranked eighth and eleventh place, respectively. In its second year on our list, UniCarriers reported revenues of $1.69
billion, an 11% decrease from 2012, which had seen a 9% increase over Nissans and TCMs individual revenues. Its
worth noting that foreign exchange rates impact all members of the Top 20 list. In the case of UniCarriers, sales in yen
were actually up 9% before converting to dollars.
Following a slight decline in revenues last year, Anhui Forklift, the Chinese makers of Heli forklifts, reported revenues of
$1.09 billion, a nearly 12% increase. Becoming the second Chinese company in the Top 10, Hangcha Group also saw a
slight decrease in revenues in 2012. In 2013, the company reported 18% growth to come just $2 million shy of $1 billion in
revenues.
Rounding out the top 10 is Komatsu, which posted the largest percentage increase on last years list after revenues
spiked 27% from 2011 to 2012. The company fell short of that $1.4 billion high water mark this year with $900 million, but
that number is on par with 2010 and 2011 revenues and 20% higher than the companys 2009 earnings. And again, the
conversion from yen to dollars also played a role in Komatsus earnings.

Breaking down the Top 20

Last year, the TCM/Nissan merger shook things up for the top half of the list. This year its the merger of Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries and Nippon Yusoki into Mitsubishi Nichiyu. With all the consolidation at the top, it could take more than $1
billion in revenues to crack the Top 10 next year. In 2010, that feat took only about $600 million.
In 2012, before Mitsubishis merger, the combined revenues for the lower half of the list were $3.2 billion, a 9% increase
from the prior year. This year, companies ranked 11 through 20 reported a total of $2.78 billion, a nearly 14% decrease.
This reflects the ongoing consolidation at the top of the list.
Earnings of the 2013 Top 20 list total $31.45 billion, a 2.2% increase. Only four companies saw revenues fall in 2013all
of them in the Top 10but each had enjoyed a banner year in 2012. Despite the fact that those four companies reported
a combined $1.2 billion less than in 2012, the Top 10 still collected more than $28.7 billion in revenues in 2013, about $1.4
billion more than in 2012. In 2011, the Top 10 accounted for about $24 billion, meaning the top half of the list has grown by
almost 20% in two years.
The Top 5, all of which are the same as last year, have fared well, growing by a combined $1.25 billion, or 6%. The Top 5s
revenues now account for 70% of the Top 20s total revenues.
Standout performances in terms of year-over-year growth include a 26% surge for Chinas Lonking, as well as 18%
increases for both ninth-ranked Hangcha and No. 16 Combilift.
Notable performances since 2009
Aside from the recession, factors such as currency conversion rates and restructurings can influence a comparison of
revenues over the past five years. That said, in its five consecutive years at the top of our list, Toyotas revenues have
grown by 68%. Holding firm to second place over the same period, Kions 2013 revenues are 50% larger.
Clark and Combilift have each boosted revenues by 75% since 2009, but the largest growth is from Hyundai, whose 2013
reported revenues are exactly twice those claimed five years ago. Hyster-Yale and Crown have spent the past five years
exchanging fourth and fifth place, with the former growing 78% in that time. Crown is up 50% over the same period.
How the suppliers are ranked
To be eligible for Moderns annual Top 20 lift truck suppliers ranking, companies must manufacture and sell lift trucks in at

least one of the Industrial Truck Associations seven truck classes: electric motor rider; electric motor hand trucks; internal
combustion engine; pneumatic tire; electric and internal combustion engine tow tractors; and rough terrain lift trucks.
Rankings are based on worldwide revenue from powered industrial trucks during each companys most recent fiscal year.
Revenue figures submitted in foreign currency are calculated using the Dec. 31, 2013 exchange rate.

ITAs lift truck classes

The Industrial Truck Association (ITA, http://www.indtrk.org) has defined seven classes of lift trucks, or forklifts, which are
defined by the type of engine, work environment, operator position and equipment characteristics.
Forklift classes include:

Class 1: electric motor trucks with cushion or pneumatic tires

Class 2: electric motor narrow aisle trucks with solid tires

Class 3: electric hand trucks or hand/rider trucks with solid tires

Class 4: internal combustion engine sit down rider forklifts with cushion tires, suitable for indoor use on hard
surfaces

Class 5: internal combustion engine sit down rider forklifts with pneumatic tires, suitable for
outdoor use on rough surfaces

Class 6: electric or internal combustion engine powered, rider units with the ability to tow (rather than lift) at
least 1,000 pounds

Class 7: almost exclusively powered by diesel engines with pneumatic tires, these units are suitable for rough
terrain and used outdoors.
Since mostly classes 1 through 5 are used in materials handling applications inside the four walls, Modern has only
specified those on our table.

About the Author

Josh Bond
Associate Editor
Josh Bond is an associate editor to Modern. Josh was formerly Moderns lift truck columnist and contributing editor, has a degree in Journalism from Keene State
College and has studied business management at Franklin Pierce.

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