Even after the rise and explosion of telehandlers on the material handling market, rough terrain forklifts and vertical mast lift trucks can be found picking up and transporting different products and materials on jobsites all over the world. There have been numerous other standard lift trucks which lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred particularly when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Ever since that time, sales numbers have become stable. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again because of their greater productivity, alteration of some telehandler-like features and low cost.
The straight mast forklift could finish two times the job as a telehandler due to their superior handling and maneuverability as well as their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast models.
Rental buyers are having significant influence within the rough-terrain lift truck industry. Over half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are usually driven mainly by utilization, which is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
In the material handling industry, the telehandler has become the darling new equipment. 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 nearly as helpful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for loading and unloading repetitive tasks. This means that even if competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT lift trucks which have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is a little slower, ganglier to operate and requires a higher level of skill to complete the job. On the upside, they get the reach if they require it. There would always be a place in 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 usually compact machines, smaller but more able to lift a heavier load vertically as opposed to the telehandler. Essentially, so as to utilize the right machinery for your application, you should determine what jobs exactly you would be completing, the type of environment and circumstances you will be operating in and what your load capacity is. These factors will help you decide what the right options available are.