)
)
)
Forkliftaction Special Report - 2025 was a bumpy ride for our industry
If you could only use one word to describe the global materials handling sector in 2025, it would surely have to be “uncertainty”.
The geo-political landscape shifted rapidly through the year as new tariffs on imports into the US were imposed, lifted, threatened and changed.
This had a seismic impact on the global economy, creating widespread confusion, uncertainty around investments, leading equipment producers to pursue other markets and resulting in some re-shoring of production back to the US.
At the same time, Chinese materials handling equipment manufacturers have been aggressively expanding their overseas customer bases as they compete for a larger slice of the global market share.
Behind all the geo-political and macro-economic uncertainty, the issues of labour shortages and climbing energy prices continue to both plague the sector and drive innovation which has seen the adoption of automation and electrification continue to grow in our industry.
Forkliftaction editor Angie Kay brings together 2025's biggest news - tariffs, the rise of Chinese manufacturers, automation and AI, product launches, mergers and acquisitions, and decarbonisation and sustainability.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)