It looks like global forklift sales for 2017 will remain in the six-digit range. While final figures for the year are not yet available, there were persistent reports of growth of more than 15 percent for much of the year.
The growth of e-commerce around peak shopping season is no longer a new story, and this year was no exception. But 2017’s peak season did raise some eyebrows for getting off to an unusually early start, with sales from Nov. 1 to Nov. 22 up 17.9 percent, year-over-year, according to Internet Retailer’s report on the peak shopping season.
Logistics companies went on a hiring spree in November to handle the holiday surge in online shopping, adding thousands of jobs picking items off shelves in warehouses and delivering packages to customers’ homes.
Challenge: In late 2015, a well-known craft brewery opened a second location with a 250,000-barrel capacity. From the opening, this new location encountered logistical challenges with its packaging and distribution and had distinct needs for its keg line, which was located in a small and tight space. The client looked to Hyster to recommend solutions to streamline the operation.
In the world of material handling, the notion of "driverless-ness" has been around for 60 years since the first automated guided vehicle (AGV) appeared in a grocery warehouse. High-tech warehouse operations are already used to the sight of AGVs performing tasks such as the vertical storage and retrieval of pallets and the loading and unloading of pallets onto outbound trailers.
The lift truck market in North America is at an all-time record high in the material handling industry. Total retail orders in all classes, excluding exports, totaled 225,534 units in 2015. It is the first year lift truck sales are higher than the industry's pre-recession level of 215,000 units in 2006.
The latest news, analysis, services and solutions regarding lift trucks and automated guided vehicles (AGV) for warehousing and distribution. Today’s companies are moving goods across more suppliers, vendors and customers than ever before, and warehouses are critical points in the overall supply chain. New technologies in lift trucks and AGVs are transforming the way warehouses and distribution centers operate — and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As these solutions continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies around the world are improving supply-chain operations through their strategic use of lift trucks and AGVs in the warehouse.
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