ABI Research predicts rise in shipments of autonomous lift trucks

Industrial trucks are vehicles used to transport inventory and materials within a facility, either horizontally or vertically. The industrial lift truck market has been buzzing, with high investment in electrification, automation, and the implementation of telematics systems, with ABI Research predicting a growth rate of 53.7%.

ABI Research senior analyst Ryan Wiggin, says: “Pallet-picking operations have lagged when it comes to automation, with most warehouse automation coming in the form of smaller form Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) for case and item picking. This is mostly because of the additional complexity and safety concerns associated with heavy pallet handling requirements. But more organisations are now exploring how they can optimise their industrial lift truck fleets through better management by adding telematics systems and exploring autonomous models for certain tasks.

“A declining workforce in industrial settings is forcing companies to consider adopting automated industrial trucks to conduct repetitive put-away and shunting activities.”