“Jungheinrich is pressing ahead on its growth path and has closed the 2017 financial year with a considerable increase in all key indicators. This positive trend is driven by new truck business in the core market of Europe and strong growth in the logistics systems business. Key milestones have once again been achieved on the road to our target of $4 billion in net annual sales for 2020.”

Mitsubishi Forklift and Cat released Tier 4 Final diesel pneumatic tire trucks, and UniCarriers Americas introduced a pneumatic internal combustion diesel forklift.

In fifth place, Crown Equipment crossed the $3 billion mark after growing almost 6%.
  
Sixth-place Hyster-Yale Materials Handling shipped 10% more units in 2017 than in 2016, for a total of 93,400. This accompanied a more than 12% growth in revenue to finish at $2.9 billion. A spokesperson says the increase was mainly attributable to higher unit and parts volumes and a decrease in deal-specific pricing in the lift truck business compared to 2016.

Although it is not relevant to 2017 revenues, in December 2017 Hyster-Yale announced it was entering into an agreement to acquire a majority ownership stake in Zhejiang Maximal Forklift Co.

Anhui Forklift held on to seventh place, but posted the second-highest growth rate on the list. It produced 121,033 units, 40% more than in the previous year. Its 2017 revenues of $1.3 billion represent a 45% increase in U.S. dollars.

Hangcha climbed one spot to finish No. 8 after growing revenues by nearly 30% in local currency. It produced 28% more units than in 2016 for a total of 105,091. According to a spokesperson, 2017 is the first full calendar year after Hangcha Group was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in China. The company then entered the financial leasing industry by acquiring shares in Shenzhen International Financial Leasing Co.
  
It also invested in a related research and development firm to boost accessory manufacturing capacity.
  
Hangcha spokesperson:

EP Equipment, makers of Big Joe pallet trucks, stackers and orderpickers, reported revenues of $236 million, an increase of 18%—enough for 14th place. According to a spokesperson, units surged to just more than 50,000 for the year based on the strength of new product launches in the Class 3 segment.

After debuting on the list in 17th place, Manitou gained a spot to No. 16 following a 45% revenue increase.

“Our masted forklift sales have grown significantly in 2017 thanks to our efforts to develop our geographical presence while introducing solid new products. This allowed us to beat market trends in our key markets. In 2018 we are investing in launching our industrial forklift line into the North American market and are expecting a successful year. Manitou Group is committed to significantly grow its presence in the global forklift business.”

At No. 18 is Hubtex, which makes special purpose vehicles including multi-directional sideloaders, diesel or LPG four-way sideloaders, order picking systems, glass transport systems and reach trucks. It sold 617 units, up about 5% from 589 in 2016. According to Michael Röbig, marketing manager, the increase in sales is based on two primary factors.

ITA’s lift truck classes

The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) has defined seven classes of lift trucks, or forklifts, which are defined by the type of engine, work environment, operator position and equipment characteristics.

Forklift classes include:

Since primarily classes one through five are used in materials handling applications inside the four walls, Modern has only specified those on our supplier table.