Vertical-mast and rough-terrain forklifts keep lifting and positioning various building supplies on various jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of conventional-style forklifts available within the material handling market which lost market share to telehandlers. This happened particularly when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again due to their greater production, lower cost and modification of some telehandler-like features.
The straight mast lift truck can complete double the work as a telehandler because of their superior handling and maneuverability in combination with their better ground speed. Fascinatingly enough, rental companies are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Rental buyers are having major influence within the rough-terrain forklift business. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast lift trucks are presently being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are generally driven mainly by utilization, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
Within the material handling industry, the telehandler has become the darling new machine. Its popularity has improved its advantage in the rental market as well. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful compared to traditional rough-terrain lift trucks for loading and unloading repetitive jobs. This means that although competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many choose the RT lift trucks which have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and requires a higher level of skillfulness to complete the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There will continuously be a place within the business for forklifts though, as there are places which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain lift trucks are usually compact machinery, smaller but more able to carry a heavier load vertically compared to the telehandler. Essentially, so as to use the best machinery for your application, you will need to determine what tasks exactly you would be accomplishing, the type of setting and circumstances you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors will help you choose what the best options available are.