The Belgian market for lifting and warehouse trucks again lost ground in 2024. This is evident from the ‘Socio-economic file 2024’, which the professional organization Sigma proposed this week.
After the bad year 2023, in which the sales volumes already fell back to the level of ten years ago, Sigma now registers an extra decrease of 7.4%, good for 7,793 units sold. With that, the total drops again under the symbolic limit of 10,000 pieces.
The economic context remains gloomy. With 11,067 bankruptcies, Belgium recorded an increase of 8% compared to the previous year in 2024. The construction sector (+17.4%) and transport & storage (+11.7%) are particularly affected, traditionally an important customer group for lifting and warehouse trucks. The uncertainty translates into canceled orders and an extension of ongoing lease contracts, which puts further pressure on investments.
Less electric forklift trucks
The market for forklift trucks fell by 34.3% to 2,384 units. Thermal trucks continue to lose ground within that segment (-26.4%), but the electrical alternative also disappoints. With -23% and only 1,753 units, the electric segment has been drawing its worst result since 2014.
Warehouse trucks represent no less than 69% of market volume with 5,389 units. Despite a slight increase of 2.4%, growth is fully supported by electric pallet trucks (+9.8%). Subcategories such as reach trucks (-5%), stackers (-11.7%) and order pickers (-3.2%) deteriorated further.
The figures illustrate a shift in use patterns, driven by the further growth of e-commerce in Belgium, where a new record was purchased online for 17.4 billion euros in 2024.
