Vertical-mast and rough-terrain forklifts keep picking up and placing various building materials on various jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of conventional-style lift trucks existing in the material handling industry that lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-surfaced and seem to be becoming more popular once more thanks to their greater productivity, lower cost and modification of certain telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast machinery would finish two times the job that a telehandler would do because of their ground speed and maneuverability. Fascinatingly enough, rental companies are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Within the rough-terrain lift truck business, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. More than 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are usually driven mainly by utilization, that is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
Within the material handling business, the telehandler has become the darling new machinery. Its popularity has enhanced its benefit in the rental market too. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not practically as productive as opposed to conventional rough-terrain lift trucks for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that even if competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot choose the RT lift trucks which have been performing well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and requires a higher level of skillfulness to finish the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There would always be a place within the industry for forklifts though, as there are places that you will not be able to access with a telehandler.
The rough-terrain forklift is compact, small and could lift a heavier load vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to use the best equipment for your application, you must determine what tasks exactly you would be completing, the type of conditions and environment you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors will help you choose what the right alternatives available are.