After stagnating in 2016, cumulated production value of materials handling equipment in China, Japan, the E.U. and the U.S. rose again to €152bn in 2017, notably thanks to solid growth in Europe and the US (+8% each). All product categories but cranes & lifting equipment increased.
2017 saw a clear geographical split: whereas production grew substantially in the west, it decreased, in the east (-3% for both China and Japan). These different fortunes are reflected in the relative position of each region, Europe overtaking China for the first time in a few years (37% of the world production against 34%).
The situation was more homogeneous at equipment level with 3 of the 4 product categories recording a growth. Only cranes & lifting equipment dropped again, dragged down by the production decline of its biggest player, China:
- Cranes & Lifting Equipment: despite good results in Europe and the US, the sharp decrease in China (-7.7%) resulted in an overall drop of -2.3% at €70bn.
- Industrial trucks increased by a staggering 10% at 36bn. China recorded an amazing +29% result. Europe keeps the largest share with €16bn.
- Continuous Handling Equipment raised by 7.7% at €36bn. Together, Europe and the US account for nearly ¾ of that total.
- Racking & shelving production recorded a solid growth in China and Europe for a total increase of 5.7% at €9.2bn.
For more information, see the full report
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About World Materials Handling Statistics
The World Materials handling Alliance complies annual statistical data on the production value of materials handling, lifting and storage equipment. The figures are based on publicly available data from official sources (governments, statistical offices) as well as estimates from WMHA partners. The aim is to give a picture of the size and evolution of the industry at international, regional and local levels, as well as by category of equipment.
About the WMHA partners
BMHRI http://en.bmhri.com/
CMES http://www.cmes.org/eng-web/index.html
FEM www.fem-eur.eu
JIMH www.jimh.or.jp/overseas/index_e.html
MHI www.mhi.org
