Vertical-mast and rough-terrain forklifts keep picking up and placing different construction materials on different jobsites even through the rise and evolution of telehandlers on the market. There are a lot of traditional-style forklifts offered within the material handling market that lost market share to telehandlers. This happened especially when the competition 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 because of their greater production, lower cost and modification of certain telehandler-like features.
Straight-mast machinery will complete twice the job which a telehandler would do because of their ground speed and maneuverability. Interestingly enough, rental companies are starting to charge higher rates on straight-mast units.
In the rough-terrain forklift business, rental purchasers have been having a greater influence. Over half of all vertical-mast forklifts are now being sold to a rental yard. These purchases are usually driven mainly by use, that is a factor closely followed by purchase price.
The telehandler has become a very common equipment in the material handling industry. Their popularity has given them a super advantage in terms of rental use. Their overall expansion has been moderated by their higher price. There is several forklift users who feel that telehandlers are not nearly as useful as opposed to traditional rough-terrain forklifts for loading and unloading repetitive jobs. This means that although competition among telehandler marketers has lowered their prices, a lot choose the RT forklifts that have been performing 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 will continuously be a place in the industry for lift trucks however, as there are locations that you could not access with a telehandler.
Rough terrain forklifts are normally compact machines, smaller but more able to lift a heavier cargo vertically compared to the telehandler. Essentially, in order to utilize the right equipment for your application, you must determine what tasks precisely you would be accomplishing, the kind of circumstances and setting you would be operating in and what your load capacity is. All these factors would help you decide what the best alternatives available are.