Best Forklift Truck for the Money

You may be wondering where to spend your forklift budget when the contract is due for renewal or if you are new to the forklift market it can be a little confusing who to go with.

You have probably been asking yourself the following questions.

“What is the best forklift for the money and why you should buy one?”

“Which forklift is the best for my warehouse?”

Just as important!

“What forklift manufacturer can I trust?”

Well, the answer is not straightforward, and you may have already begun your search of local and national forklift truck companies.  However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and you will see from my findings below you are going to leave this article a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than you were before you read it.

Forklift trucks can be expensive, and you may be tempted to save a few quid and buy a cheap second hand forklift.  The downside of buying a cheap forklift is that it will invariably breakdown just when you have a vehicle to load, and your customer is waiting on your delivery. 

Another good reason to being careful about buying a used forklift is that it might not be legally fit for purpose and may cause an injury to an operator or colleague.

So how can you ensure that you are buying from a good manufacturer?

Check out how a manufacturer is performing and are they experiencing growth in their business?  Are they brining out new forklift trucks that are well received and written about by the press?  Check out online forums about forklift trucks and look at who is getting the best press and who is not.  If you are based on an industrial estate just look at who the big companies near to you are using, who do your customers or suppliers use?  Who does Amazon, Tesco, Asda use?

Below is a list compiled by Materials Handling & Logistics of their 2019 Top 10 Forklift Manufacturers.  Keep in mind we had Covid 10 last year so although the list is not months old there is a good reason.

The list is in revenue format, so the highest reported turnover company is first and so.

Forklift Manufacturers by Turnover

1. Toyota Industries Corp. $8.78 billion. Long-time leader in the industry with numerous options for different drivetrains and load capacities.
2. The KION Group. $5.924 billion. Has a variety of forklift and materials handling solutions under their umbrella (including Linde Material Handling, STILL, and Fenwick)
3. The Jungheinrich Group. $4.25 billion. Offers numerous electric forklift trucks for a variety of needs.
4. Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd. $3.7 billion. Carries a variety of lift trucks from their Mitsubishi, Unicarriers, and Nichiyu product lines.
5. Crown Equipment Corp. $2.9 billion (tied for 5th place). Offers different options for new, used, and rental forklifts.
6. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. $2.9 billion (tied for 5th place). Boasts an “estimated 830,000 Hyster® and Yale® lift trucks in operation worldwide,” according to their website.
7. Anhui Heli Co., Ltd. $1.28 billion. Offers a range of forklift and other heavy lifting solutions.
8. Komatsu. $1.21 billion. Has a range of 36V and 48V electric forklifts.
9. Hangcha Group. $1.07 billion. Has numerous electric forklift trucks in three- and four-wheel varieties.
10. Clark Material Handling. $781 million (tied for 10th place). Notable forklifts include their S-Series and GEX-series forklifts. 
11. Doosan Industrial Vehicle Co. $781 million (tied for 10th place). Notable products include their Pro-5 Series forklifts.

So as these are the biggest forklift companies in the world, which one should you choose?

Who Is The Best Forklift Company In The World?

Ranker carried out a survey of over 1,000 voters to rank the top forklift brands in the world. According to their survey, the top 10 most beloved forklift brands are:

1. Toyota
2. Linde Material Handling (part of the KION Group)
3. Caterpillar (Had a partnership with Mitsubishi to form Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America)
4. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc. (Yale also listed at #10 separately)
5. Bobcat Company (Rated highly, but their products are meant for outdoors work)
6. CASE (Rough terrain forklifts)
7. Clark Material Handling
8. Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK
9. Komatsu
10. AB Volvo (originally No. 11. However, their forklifts are listed on their website as archival products).

Who has the best Forklift?

The ratings above clearly show the top forklift brands form the survey but when you combine the data including the turnover of each of these companies the list looks like this.

1. Toyota Industries Corp.
2. The KION Group
3. The Jungheinrich Group
4. Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd.
5. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Inc.
6. Komatsu
7. Clark Material Handling

All the above forklift truck companies have national and, in some cases, regional sales and service centres.  If you are looking for a high-quality forklift truck to use in your warehouse or workplace here is a good list to get you started.

All the forklift companies listed above will offer you an on-site demonstration and I would suggest you take them up on it.  After all, if your forklift operator does not like it they will not look after it. 

The final decision usually lies between the forklift operator, purchasing department and warehouse manager.