# Development Trends of China's Forklift Industry

Since the reform and opening-up, China's forklift industry has achieved rapid development, but there are also some problems. In recent years, the state has paid increasing attention to the forklift industry, with growing support and stricter supervision for forklift enterprises. What is the development trend of the forklift industry? 1. Product and Market Development Trends (I) Product Demand Sales of electric forklifts in China will increase, but the growth rate will not be too significant. Electric forklifts abroad already account for about 40% of the entire forklift market. In 1999, electric forklift sales in Japan accounted for 39.7% of total sales, while gasoline forklifts dropped to 30.9% and diesel forklifts fell to 29.4%. Compared with 1989, a decade earlier, electric forklifts in Japan increased substantially by 11.8 percentage points, gasoline forklifts decreased by 5.2 percentage points, and diesel forklifts declined by 6.6 percentage points, indicating that electric forklifts are moving in a positive development direction. It is estimated that in 2003, electric forklift market sales in China will be approximately 3,300 units sold by local companies, about 4,000 units sold by foreign-invested enterprises, and roughly 5,000 units imported, with a total share of about 25%. Due to the technology gap, local companies have greater room for growth, and strong domestic enterprises can focus on this market, but they should first seek technological breakthroughs and maintain sufficient patience. The demand for container forklifts has reached a certain scale, with an estimated demand of about 200 units in 2003, of which approximately 90% will be imported products. Container forklifts have high technical content and are difficult to manufacture, but their prices and profits are also relatively high. Existing local container forklift manufacturers can appropriately increase technological investment to replace more imported products. (II) Product Technology Environmental protection requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, especially for exported products. The United States, a major export destination for Chinese forklifts, will implement emission standards equivalent to the European II standard in 2004. Gasoline engine forklifts in use generally run on both liquefied gas and gasoline; the application of energy-saving technologies and mechatronics integration technology has emerged; product certification work has expanded in scope and raised in requirements; ergonomic design has been adopted to improve operational comfort, reduce noise and vibration, and greater attention is also paid to appearance design. Therefore, local companies should first overcome this weakness. The above seemingly minor issues will become key factors determining market viability. (III) Changes in Market Fields and Regions The center of gravity of the market will shift northward, and usage in new fields will also expand. The "Pearl River Delta" region has a strong awareness of forklift usage, especially among some Hong Kong-funded and Taiwan-funded enterprises. In addition to the region's early rapid economic growth and strong comprehensive economic strength, forklift sales in this area have always ranked among the top nationwide. However, at present, the "Yangtze River Delta" region has become a new hotspot for domestic and foreign investment, with rapid economic growth, so the center of gravity of the future forklift market will further shift northward, becoming a new growth point for the forklift market. The clutch release bearing of internal combustion forklifts operates frequently, and damage to it accounts for a large proportion of forklift failures. If the driver operates normally and performs timely maintenance, this bearing can last about 3 months, but it must be replaced with a new one during intermediate maintenance. If the driver has a low skill level, the forklift they operate will almost every month cause damage to the release bearing; after damage, it will also affect other components, such as the release lever and clutch plate, significantly increasing the material costs of equipment maintenance. After processing with the above method, the release bearing cannot be re-lubricated within six months. After this lubrication method was tested at Hengshui Railway Station, the mechanical integrity rate improved significantly, achieving obvious economic benefits, saving material costs and increasing loading and unloading capacity, with each unit able to increase loading and unloading capacity by 30T per month. This method has also been popularized at other railway stations, all achieving better results.