Rough-terrain and vertical-mast forklifts keep picking up and placing different building supplies on different jobsites even through the evolution and rise of telehandlers on the market. There are numerous traditional-style lift trucks offered within the material handling industry that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened specially when the challenger broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast forklifts have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular once more due to their greater productivity, lower cost and adaptation of certain telehandler-like features.
The straight mast forklift can finish two times the job as a telehandler because of their superior handling and maneuverability in addition to their better ground speed. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are beginning to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
In the rough-terrain forklift industry, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. Over 50 percent of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are normally driven mainly by utilization, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
Within the material handling business, the telehandler has become the darling new equipment. Its popularity has enhanced its advantage in the rental market too. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is some forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not practically as helpful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for unloading and loading repetitive tasks. This means that although competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot prefer the RT forklifts which have been working well for decades.
In comparison, the telehandler is ganglier, a little slower to operate and requires a higher level of skill 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 lift trucks though, as there are places which you can not access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain lift trucks are usually compact machinery, smaller but more able to carry a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, in order to use the best equipment for your application, you will have to determine what tasks exactly you would be completing, the kind of environment and conditions you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors will help you choose what the right options available are.