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 attached increasing importance to the forklift industry, and its support for and supervision of forklift enterprises have also become stronger and stronger. What are the development trends of the forklift industry? 1. Product and market development trends (1) In terms of product demand Sales of electric forklifts in China will increase, but the increase will not be too large. Electric battery forklifts abroad have already accounted for about 40% of the entire forklift market. In 1999, sales of electric forklifts in Japan accounted for 39.7% of total sales, while gasoline forklifts fell to 30.9% and diesel forklifts fell to 29.4%. Compared with 1989, ten years earlier, Japan's electric forklifts increased substantially, by 11.8 percentage points, gasoline forklifts decreased by 5.2 percentage points, and diesel forklifts decreased by 6.6 percentage points, indicating that electric forklifts are moving in the direction of development. It is estimated that in 2003 China's electric forklift market sales volume was about 3,300 units sold by local companies, about 4,000 units sold by foreign-funded enterprises, and about 5,000 units imported, with a total proportion of about 25%. Due to the technology gap, local companies have greater room for growth, and strong domestic enterprises can pay attention to this market, but they must first seek technological breakthroughs and have enough patience. Demand for container forklifts has reached a certain scale, and demand in 2003 is expected to reach about 200 units, of which about 90% are 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. (2) In terms of product technology Environmental protection requirements are becoming increasingly strict, especially for export products. The main export destination of Chinese forklifts, the United States, will implement emission standards equivalent to Euro II standards in 2004. The gasoline engine forklifts used generally have both liquefied gas and gasoline; the application of energy-saving technology and mechatronics technology has already emerged; the content of product certification work has increased and requirements have been raised; ergonomic design is adopted, which improves operating comfort, reduces noise and vibration, and also pays more attention to appearance design. Therefore, local companies should first overcome this weakness. The above seemingly insignificant issues will become the main content determining market viability. (3) Changes in market sectors and regions The center of gravity of the market will move northward, and its use in new fields will also expand. The "Pearl River Delta" region has a strong awareness of forklift use, especially 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 region have always ranked among the top in the country. However, at present, the "Yangtze River Delta" region has become a hot spot for a new round of Chinese and foreign investment, with rapid economic growth. Therefore, in the future, the center of gravity of the forklift market will further move northward and become a new growth point for the forklift market. The clutch release bearing of internal combustion forklifts works frequently, and the number of damaged ones accounts for a large part of forklift failures. If the driver operates normally and maintains it in a timely manner, this bearing can be used for about 3 months, but it must be replaced with a new one during intermediate maintenance. If the driver's technical level is low, the forklift being driven will cause damage to the release bearing almost every month; after damage, it will also affect other components, such as the release lever and clutch plate, significantly increasing the material cost of equipment maintenance. After processing by the above method, the release bearing cannot be lubricated again within six months. After this set of oil injection methods was tested at Hengshui Railway Station, the mechanical integrity rate increased significantly, and obvious economic benefits were achieved. It can save material costs and increase loading and unloading capacity, increasing loading and unloading capacity by 30T per month for each unit. This method has also been popularized at other railway stations, and all have achieved better results.