New study details impact of industrial trucks on the country’s GDP and workforce

A new report issued in June quantifies the forklift industry’s strong economic impact and employment rates, contributing more than $25 billion to the U.S. GDP and accounting for more than 200,000 jobs.

“Forklifts have been lifting America’s economy for over a century and we can now quantify our industry’s economic contributions to the overall U.S. economy,” said Brett Wood, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America and chairman of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA).

Lifting America: The Economic Impact of Forklift Manufacturers, Dealers and Distributors, from the ITA and Oxford Economics, offers detailed data at national and state levels.

Significant findings include:
● Globally, more than 1 million industrial truck or forklift units are sold annually.
● In the U.S., Canada and Mexico, more than 230,000 units were sold in 2016.
● With over 200,000 units in the U.S. alone, more than 60 percent are electric.
● The industry’s economic contribution to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) was $25.7 billion in 2015.
● The industry’s activity supports a total of 209,000 U.S. jobs.
● Each job within the industry supports 2.5 additional jobs elsewhere in the U.S. economy.
● The industrial truck manufacturing industry workforce has a greater share of veterans compared to all other manufacturing as well as other industries.
● In 2015, the industry paid $5.3 billion to local, state and federal governments in taxes.

Industrial trucks are categorized into seven classes based on characteristics, such as engine type, design and size. Manufacturers of industrial trucks make a widespread contribution throughout the U.S. economy. Of the $25.7 billion total contribution to GDP, some $14.9 billion results from supply chain and consumer spending activities.

Overall, the sector benefits other parts of the national economy, including, for example, $3.5 billion in trade, transportation and utilities; $2.1 billion in professional and business services; and $1.1 billion in education and health services.

“Forklifts facilitate the production of goods and services, and the diversity of their impact is very broad,” said Brian Feehan, president of ITA. “Industrial trucks play an important functional role in the production process in virtually every supply chain in every industry.”

In total, industrial truck manufacturers support more than 209,600 jobs. The companies directly employ more than 59,700 workers in manufacturing, sales and support staff positions. In addition, for each worker directly employed by the industrial truck sector, 2.5 additional jobs are supported in the wider economy, either in the supply chains of industrial truck manufacturers or through the wage spending of those employed by the firms themselves or their supply chains. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 540,000 forklift operators are employed across the country in all 50 states.

Feehan noted the forklift industry’s steady growth in recent years, citing trends such as e-commerce and the resulting modernization of warehouses and their fleets.

“To sell a record number of units in 2015, then to surpass that record in North America in 2016 is very impressive, and we’ve also seen job numbers increase steadily,” he said. “After the first six months of 2017, we’re slightly above where we were in 2016 at the same time. There’s still time for things to change, but it speaks well for the health of the industry.”

The Oxford Economics report takes into consideration the direct, indirect and induced contributions of the industry. “We were honored to be selected to perform this analysis and work with the industrial truck manufacturers to understand and quantify the significance of their economic impact as well as narrate their vital contribution to America’s industrial production sector,” said Hamilton Galloway, head of consulting, Americas for Oxford Economics. “Workers in this sector are highly productive, and wages reflect this with above average annual income and placing them above the median income earners in most states.”

Click here to view the complete report on ITA’s website.