Despite COVID-19, global forklift sales for 2021 nearly reached $45 billion and are expected to soar past $82 billion by 2030. Let’s take a look at the best forklift manufacturers who are producing the pinnacle of forklift design, safety, convenience, and value.
2022 could be a big year for forklift manufacturers, too. To understand why, let’s first consider factors that could help the global forklift market grow.
Factors For Growth of Forklift Manufacturers Going Forward
Forklifts are in high demand in many industries, including:
- Transportation and logistics
- Retail and e-commerce
- Manufacturing
- Construction
- Food and beverage
Going forward, the top forklift brands look poised to use state-of-the-art tools and technologies to enhance their products. These brands will drive the growth of the global forklift market and ensure businesses can use their products to become more productive and efficient than ever before.
Top Forklift Manufacturers of 2024
Many changes are taking place in the forklift sector. Some manufacturers have merged. Others are bringing different technologies together under one roof to provide one-stop shopping for customers. Despite these changes, the leading forklift manufacturers list contains mostly the same players from the previous year.
1. Toyota
This should come as no surprise to anyone. Toyota has been the leading forklift manufacturer for many years, and has produced over 700,000 forklifts for use world wide. The company shows no signs of losing their top ranking, and the Toyota Material Handling plant in Columbus, IN is the world’s largest forklift manufacturer, and top seller in the U.S. Known for their quality and reliability, Toyota offers electric trucks in a variety of models.
2. KION Group
Kion Group is another fixture on the top forklift manufacturer’s list, and is the largest manufacturer in Europe. It sells two brands of lift trucks: Linde and Baoli. Linde has been a leader in material handling equipment for over 150 years, and is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric forklifts. It serves the North American market. Baoli sells trucks in the international market, and is the second largest manufacturer of warehouse technology worldwide. Its products include diesel, gas, liquid propane and electric trucks.
3. Jungheinrich Group
Based in Germany, Jungheinrich offers electric forklifts and lift trucks sold in North America by more than 400 dealers. Jungheinrich’s product line includes counterbalanced and lithium-ion trucks, with an emphasis on narrow-aisle lift trucks. This top forklift manufacturer also offers order pickers, turret and reach trucks, tow tractors, walkie stackers, and more.
4. Mitsubishi Logisnext
Mitsubishi Logisnext is the fourth largest forklift manufacturer, and does business as Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks. Maker of the justly famed Caterpillar forklift brand, Mitsubishi Logisnext formed as a result of the merger between Mitsubishi Nichiyu Forklift and UniCarriers Corp, it has manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Texas. Mitsubishi offers six brands of lift trucks: Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks, UniCarriers, Nichiyu Electric Forklift, CAT Lift Trucks, TCM, and Rocla.
5. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling (HYMP)
HYMP is the parent company of the Hyster and Yale forklift brands and consistently ranks among the leading global lift truck brands. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, it continues to explore ways to grow its business in Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and China. Beyond building forklifts, the company seeks to create solutions, enabling their customers to improve the efficiency of their worksites.
6. Crown Equipment
Crown Equipment is a privately held forklift manufacturer based in Ohio that specializes in electric trucks. Started in 1945, Crown is now the 5th largest manufacturer of powered forklifts worldwide. It offers a wide range of models, including counterbalance, very narrow aisle, and reach trucks. Crown also provides order pickers, stackers and tow trucks.
7. Anhui Heli Forklift
Based in China, the Anhui Heli forklift brand has led the Chinese market for nearly 30 years in a row, and is now the 7th largest forklift manufacturer in the world. Anhui Heli offers a mix of IC, electric, and lithium battery trucks, under the brand name HELI. It also offers empty container stackers, wheel loaders, tractors, forklift attachments, and more.
8. Komatsu
Komatsu is a Japanese multinational corporation using years of experience combined with the latest technologies to build their fleet of small-t-large powered forklift trucks. With 25 plants around the globe, the company’s forklift brand specializes in IC pneumatic, electric riders, IC cushion, and narrow aisle forklifts.
9. Hangcha Group
Hangcha has been manufacturing forklifts for nearly 50 years. It produces IC and electric forklifts, pallet trucks, pallet stackers, aerial platforms and rough terrain trucks. Hangcha is the first forklift manufacturer to develop an explosion-proof model for high gas and dust areas.
10. Clark Material Handling
Kentucky-based Clark built their first “Tructractor”, the first internal combustion industrial truck, in 1917. More than a century later, they offer five major lines, and have manufactured over 1 million trucks. This forklift manufacturer produces LPG, gasoline, dual fuel, diesel, electric riders, and powered hand trucks.
IT’S ALL ABOUT WORKSITE SAFETY
Among dozens of forklift manufacturers worldwide, those lifted above are the 10 best. So what exactly goes into the “best” forklift manufacturers? Plenty of factors, not least of which is safety. According to the U.S Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), accidents involving powered industrial trucks (just a fancy term for forklifts) once again ranked in the top 10 most common safety incidents. Since thousands of accidents happen every year, forklift manufacturers continue to evolve equipment design to account for both existing and evolving hazards.
Despite the best safety design upgrades and forklift safety features devised by the best forklift brands, there is one thing above all that helps prevent accidents and injuries on the job: a properly trained, OSHA-compliant lift operator.
At ForkliftCertification.com, our training modules help anyone learn about basic safety concepts, OSHA rules and regulations, proper operating techniques, and much more. Remember, OSHA mandates that forklift training is the responsibility of the employer.
Which Forklift Brands Prioritize Workplace Safety?
Forklift manufacturers develop their products with safety top of mind. In doing so, they ensure businesses can purchase lifts that their workers can use to safely perform a variety of tasks.
It often helps to learn about a forklift’s safety features before you purchase a lift. This enables you to evaluate the different safety features available from myriad forklift brands and select a lift that makes it easy for your workers to minimize risk.
Along with evaluating different forklift brands and their products’ safety features, you should enroll your workers in a forklift safety training program. This program goes hand-in-hand with a first-rate forklift, and over time, will help you get the most value out of your purchase.
FORKLIFT MANUFACTURERS FAQ
1. What is the world’s largest forklift manufacturer?
Toyota remains the world’s largest manufacturer of forklifts, and is the top-selling brand in the U.S.
2. What forklifts are made in the USA?
American-based forklift manufacturing companies, and international companies with plants in the U.S., the top forklifts manufactured in the USA include:
- Toyota
- KION North America
- Mitsubishi Logisnext
- Hyster-Yale Materials Handling
- Crown Equipment
- Komatsu Forklift USA
- Clark Material Handling
3. How many brands of forklift are there?
There are at least 28 different forklift brands worldwide.
4. Who makes the largest forklift in the world?
Wiggins Lift Co. makes a marina lift called the Wiggins Marina Bull that lifts 10,000 pound boats up to 75 feet in the air!
5. What forklift manufacturer makes the strongest lift in the word
Kalmar USA specializes in super heavy forklifts. The Kalmar DCG720-10LB is rated the strongest forklift and is capable of lifting 72 tons or 144,000 pounds.
Enroll Your Workers in the Top Forklift Safety Training Program
Choosing a top forklift manufacturer will help ensure you buy a well-made machine. That way, you can reduce costly accidents and stay on OSHA’s good side. But, without the proper training for your forklift workers, even the best forklift can’t prevent accidents, or hefty OSHA fines.
That’s where ForkliftCertification.com comes in. We’re the number one online provider of forklift training and certification. In only about one hour from any internet connected device, operators can become trained and certified in Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 forklifts.
Sign up today, so your workers can become certified forklift operators and will be 100% OSHA-compliant!
While registration, training and testing can all occur online, you’re welcome to call us at (888) 278-8896 and to speak with a real person if you have any questions!
When your workers are fully forklift certified, your worksite will be safer, more productive, and more cost-efficient. Sign up today!