Rough-terrain and vertical-mast forklifts keep lifting and positioning various building materials on different jobsites even through the evolution and rise of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of traditional-style lift trucks existing in the material handling business that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened specially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again because of their greater production, lower cost and alteration of some telehandler-like features.
The straight mast lift truck can finish twice the job as a telehandler due to their superior maneuverability and handling in combination with their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
Within the rough-terrain lift truck industry, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. More than half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are now being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are normally driven mostly by use, that is a factor closely followed by acquisition price.
Within the material handling business, the telehandler has become the darling new machine. Its popularity has enhanced its benefit in the rental market as well. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is some lift truck users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as helpful compared to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that even though competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT forklifts that have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is a little slower, ganglier to operate and needs a higher level of skill to finish the task. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There will 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.
Rough terrain lift trucks are normally compact machines, smaller but more able to carry a heavier load vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Essentially, so as to utilize the right machine for your application, you should determine what jobs exactly you would be accomplishing, the kind of circumstances and setting you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors would help you choose what the right alternatives available are.