Rough-terrain and vertical-mast lift trucks keep lifting and placing different building materials on various jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are lots of conventional-style lift trucks available within the material handling business which lost market share to telehandlers. This occurred especially when the competition broke onto the construction scene. Since that time, sales numbers have stabilized. Vertical-mast lift trucks have re-emerged and seem to be becoming more popular again due to their greater productivity, lower cost and modification of some telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast equipment would complete two times the job which a telehandler would do because of their ground speed and maneuverability. Interestingly enough, rental outfits are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
In the rough-terrain lift truck business, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. Over half of all vertical-mast lift trucks are now being sold to a rental yard. These acquisitions are generally driven mostly by utilization, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become an extremely popular machine within the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a super advantage in terms of rental utilization. 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 lift trucks for loading and unloading repetitive jobs. This means that although competition amongst telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, many choose the RT lift trucks that 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 task. On the upside, they get the reach if they need it. There will continuously be a place within the industry for forklifts however, since there are locations which you would not be able to access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain forklifts are normally compact machines, smaller but more able to carry a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Basically, so as to utilize the right machinery for your application, you should determine what tasks precisely you will 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 best alternatives available are.