Distribution market for material handling equipment to grow 5.2% yearly to $19.7 billion in 2023

Since 2008, the dramatic increase in global e-commerce activity – which revolutionized delivery of goods to consumers and businesses – has had a major impact on the global material handling equipment market, which is reflected in Global Material Handling Equipment, an industry study from The Freedonia Group.

As new warehouses, order fulfillment centers, and other facilities were built by companies involved in e-commerce, the study indicates associated material handling equipment sales surged. Going forward, the distribution material handling equipment market is forecast to expand 5.2% per year through 2023 to $19.7 billion.

Distribution is expected to register the fastest rate of growth among markets because of:
● Increasing international trade, which will spur sales of material handling equipment used in warehouses and export and import facilities
● Surging global e-commerce and the construction of new order fulfillment centers
● The growing use of state-of-the-art technologies in distribution applications, including advanced storage and retrieval systems
● The expansion of the global logistics and transportation sector

Products covered in the study include:
● Forklift trucks, industrial trucks and tractors, hand lifts, and other lifting, loading, and unloading machines
● Conveying equipment (unit, bulk, overhead or floor-mounted) including gravity- or power-driven stationary conveyors; belt, chain, slat, and bucket conveyors; underflow tow conveyors, pneumatic conveyors
● Hoists, cranes, and monorails – including hand-, air- and electric motor-powered hoists; top-running single- and double-girder bridge, under-running bridge, gantry, and jib overhead cranes; and nonelectric cranes
● Automated storage and retrieval systems
● Automated guided vehicles, separately sold material handling software and material handling robots

The scope of the study does not include aerial work platforms, elevators, lift tables, construction-type cranes (principally mobile and tower cranes), wrecker cranes, and similar items sometimes considered to be material handling equipment. It does not include related services, such as equipment maintenance and spare parts.