This report analyses the UK market for rough terrain lift trucks (RTLTs), and is an update of the subject which was last covered in the European Service in October 2010.  It examines the supply of domestic manufacturers and importers, assesses the trends in the market and the factors affecting its development, and forecasts the main features of demand in the short to medium term.

The report covers the agricultural, industrial and construction sectors of the market.  The rough terrain lift truck is one of the few products that are active in all three sectors, which has been one of the prime reasons for its increasing popularity over the last two decades. 

The rough terrain lift truck is the generic term given to machines that were originally developed by Matbro in the 1940s, which in the 1960s evolved into the agricultural tractor skid unit, with two large drive wheels to the front and reversed operator and transmission with a vertical forklift mast attached to the front.  This machine is referred to as the masted rough terrain lift truck throughout this report.

During the 1970s a new materials handling machine was developed based upon the original rough terrain lift truck but with a telescopic boom replacing the vertical mast, and sold with a wide variety of attachments.  This machine is referred to as the telescopic type or ‘telehandler’ in this report, and resulted in moving the market from a totally rough terrain forklift application to a rough terrain materials handling function.