One of the most popular projects that MH&L produces every year is the annual ranking of the Top 10 Forklift Manufacturers, so we thought we’d spin it off into a podcast as well.
In a distribution environment being increasingly pushed not just to same-day delivery but within-the-hour delivery demands, technology continues to influence the strategies for material handling and logistics professionals. And yet, despite the emergence of autonomous mobile robots, predictive analytics, handheld devices and AI-everywhere, the main driver of products within and without the four walls of a distribution center remains the forklift.
According to research conducted by Interact Analysis, the global forklift market was projected to grow overall by 6% in 2026. But that growth pattern varies depending on the country or region. Spain, for instance, will see forklift purchases increasing by 10% this year, which Interact attributes to the strength of the Spanish logistics sector as well as the markets ties to Chinese exports. Likewise, India is rebounding from a down year in 2025 with expected growth in orders of 7.9%. China could see growth of 6 to 8 percent this year, largely due to exports of Chinese-made forklifts, while the domestic market within China is softening somewhat.
As for the US market, Interact sees a more modest growth of 3 to 5 percents, with wider growth constrained to a degree by structural headwinds, inflation, and other economic factors.
According to the Industrial Truck Association, the trade association that tracks the US forklift industry, 216 thousand forklifts were sold in the US in 2025, a 9% increase from the 198 sold in 2024. That’s still a long way from the peak of over 340 thousand in the COVID years of 2021-22, but it’s nonetheless reassuring to see the market bouncing back. Sales of electric versus internal combustion are currently at a 2 to 1 ratio in favor of electric, a trend that’s held study for the past several years.
