Material Handling Equipment Manufacturers

The 1,400 material handling equipment manufacturers in the US produce a wide range of custom products including elevators, escalators and moving walkways; conveyors and industrial and commercial carousels; grain and mine elevators and conveyors; pneumatic tube conveyors; and overhead cranes, hoists, winches and monorail systems. They also produce standard products, including dollies and hand trucks; forklifts and pallet movers; industrial cradles, cherry-pickers, and bomb lifts; wheelbarrows, shopping carts and cart corrals, valet carts and dumbwaiters. As a result, the industry’s customer base is very broad.

Foreign Competition

US manufacturers compete in the domestic market with imports, which represent about 25% of the US market for material handling equipment.

System Automation and Flow Analysis

As technology advances, so are the capabilities incorporated into material handling equipment.

Sep 14, 2026 - New Canadian Counter-Tariffs Affect Industrial Supply Chains

• Canada’s latest counter-tariffs on US goods are now in effect, covering everything from dairy products and household appliances to industrial machinery, steel products, and equipment used in the mining, oil, and gas industries. The tariffs apply at rates of 15%, 25% and 50% to $27.6 billion worth of imports from the United States. The list reaches deeply into industrial supply chains and includes steel pipes and fittings, some fittings specifically intended for mining and oil and gas applications, grinding balls used in mills, and components used in oil and natural gas development. Heavy equipment components are also included, such as buckets, shovels, grabs and grips, bulldozer and angledozer blades, and parts for boring or sinking machinery. Other industrial products facing tariffs include hydraulic jacks and hoists, cranes, forklifts and other loading and material-handling equipment. The federal government of Canada says the measures match US tariffs dollar for dollar and rate for rate. The US imposed tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods on August 22.
• Beverage manufacturers and distributors are investing in more advanced conveyor systems as product variety, smaller package sizes, sustainability goals, and warehouse automation increase operational complexity, Beverage Industry reports. Demand is shifting toward customized conveyor solutions that can handle diverse packaging formats, faster production lines, and frequent changeovers, while integrating with autonomous mobile robots and AI-driven warehouse systems. Customers are also seeking equipment that reduces energy, water and lubrication use, improves sanitation and supports predictive maintenance. For makers of conveyor systems, trends in the beverage industry are creating opportunities to supply more flexible, automated, and digitally connected systems that improve throughput, reliability and space utilization. Conveyor suppliers that offer scalable, AI-enabled and sustainability-focused solutions are likely to benefit as manufacturers modernize production and distribution operations.
• Heavy equipment sales are falling amid high interest rates, fewer infrastructure projects, and tariff pressures that have slowed growth and decreased jobs in the sector, The New York Times reports citing a new report from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Forklift manufacturers, for example, are facing margin pressure, declining demand, and production challenges due to tariffs layered on top of broader industry headwinds. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and imported components have made it more expensive to build forklifts in the US, in some cases making it cheaper to manufacture overseas and import finished units. Forklift manufacturer Hyster-Yale reported significant financial impact, including tens of millions in tariff costs and reduced operating profits, while also seeing weakening demand as higher prices discourage buyers. Tariffs are compounding other pressures, including high interest rates, reduced construction activity, and softer agricultural demand, further shrinking order volumes.
• Producer prices for material handling equipment manufacturers rose 3.8% in June compared to a year ago, after rising 4.6% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Producer prices for makers of materials handling equipment are at record highs as companies pass through substantially higher input costs amid healthy demand from several key end markets. Meanwhile, employment by the industry grew 1.6% year over year in May. Over the past decade, employment by material handling equipment manufacturers grew 21%, nearly twice as fast as growth in overall private employment.

Industry size & Structure

A typical material handling equipment manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs 69 workers, and generates over $25 million annually.

• The material handling equipment manufacturing industry comprises about 1,400 companies, which employ about 96,000 workers and generate about $35 billion annually.
• The elevator and escalator segment accounts for 12% of firms and 11% of industry revenue. The conveyor and conveying equipment segment accounts for 51% of firms and 35% of revenue. The overhead crane, hoist, and monorail system segment represents 19% of firms and 22% of revenue. The segment that produces carts, stackers, lifts, and cradles accounts for 18% of firms and 32% of industry revenue.
• The conveyor and conveying equipment segment is the least concentrated, with half of its revenue attributed to the top 50 firms. The other three segments are highly concentrated, with more than half of revenue attributed to the top four firms.
• Large companies include Americana Cos., Dematic, Bastian Solutions, DMW&H, Crown Equipment Corp., Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Otis Elevator, and divisions of Honeywell, Caterpillar, and Komatsu.