Material Handling Equipment Market Information Report by Operation (Assembly, Transportation, Packaging, Distribution, Others), By System Type (Unit Load Material Handling System, Bulk Load Material Handling System), By Application (E-Commerce, Automotive, Food & Beverages, Metal & Heavy Machinery, Others) and By Region - Global Forecast To 2030

Material Handling Equipment Market Scenario

Material Handling Equipment Market is expected to grow USD 37,980.70 million at a CAGR 7.10% during the foredcast period. The material handling equipment is crucial in the manufacturing and significant other industrial verticals. Especially, the movement, storage, and control over the products handled are some of the key operations carried out in the industrial units. As the material handling equipment involves machines, the operations are carried out effortlessly and eliminate the labor costs and the errors that occur due to human intervention. Moreover, the demand for productivity rises across several industrial verticals. Such factors have facilitated the automated systems in warehouse operations, automotive, and significant other end-users. 

Similarly, the vendors and manufacturers of the material handling equipment are enabling the connectivity of the equipment, which has provided greater visibility and information sharing facility. The sharing of the real-time status gives the business operators to have a clearer view throughout. Moreover, the growth of the e-commerce sector in recent times is also driving the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry.

COVID 19 Analysis:

The COVID-19 has seriously impacted the growth of the material handling equipment industry, this is primarily due to the stringent lockdowns and restrictions on movement across the globe. The global supply chain disruptions and production facilities have been reduced. Such factors have reduced the material handling equipment market value. 

On the other side, the e-commerce sector has grown tremendously during the lockdown and has triggered the need for increased productivity in the warehouses and manufacturing sectors. Modernization of the warehouses and the necessity for the market players to adopt the automation to leverage between the demand and productivity has increased the material handling equipment market value. Therefore the material handling equipment market growth has seen both ups and downs during the pandemic. 

Market dynamics:

Market drivers:

The rapid growth of the e-commerce sector across the globe, where the consumers are intensively purchasing regular goods is promoting the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry. For instance, USD 3.46 trillion was spent on online shopping in the year 2019 across the globe. The trend of online shopping continues to increase which is considered as the major market driver of the material handling equipment industry.

The customization of the equipment and the systems that are integrated with the warehouse and the supply chain ecosystems are providing higher visibility for the manufacturers and the industrial sectors. Also, the increasing labor costs in the developed countries are driving the material handling equipment market growth.

Market opportunities:

The increasing investment in the material handling equipment industry by the established market players is bringing in a series of inventions and updates in the material handling equipment industry. Such factors are stimulating the potential end-users to increase their utilization of the material handling equipment for their business growth.

Some of the government initiatives are presenting lucrative opportunities for the growth of the material handling equipment industry. Especially, the One Belt One Route(OBOR) initiative by the Chinese government has stimulated the development of the material handling equipment industry.

Market restraints:

The increasing investments in the initial stages and the overall costs of ownership are expected to hinder the material handling market growth. Especially, the procurement, integration, programming, and installations of this material handling equipment demand higher costs. Moreover, the higher maintenance costs and the slower return of investments are some of the restraining factors of material handling equipment market growth.

The costs of replacement of the software and the customization of the software according to the requirement of the company are some of the major restraining factors of the material handling equipment industry.

Market challenges:

The life cycle costs of the material handling equipment such as capital investment, installation, setup, programming, training, system testing, operation, maintenance, repair, and reuse are the major costs that are hindering the overall material handling equipment market growth.

Lack of awareness regarding the availability of the operating equipment and the varied operations that can be performed by these machines are considered as the major challenge for the material handling equipment market growth.

Cumulative growth analysis:

The material handling equipment market value was at USD 211.76 billion in the year 2019 and it is expected to surpass the market value of over 320.90 billion by the year 2027 while registering a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period. The estimated growth value is because of the advent of superior technologies in the industry and the high-level software that facilitates the flow of goods and reduces the error that occurs during the warehousing operations. The material handling equipment enables higher productivity and increases the business value and therefore propels the key market players to adopt the material handling equipment in their business activities. Such factors increase the material handling equipment market value.

The advent of hands-free communication systems, Internet-of-Things, and Artificial Intelligence has increased the overall production processes of the business of several end-user industries. For instance, one of the leading beverages companies, Mai Dubai has adopted a warehouse automated storage and retrieval system that has helped the company to increase productivity. To cater to the increasing customer demand the manufacturing facilities are adopting automated technologies. Such factors are increasing the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry.

Value chain analysis:

The increasing development in the food and beverage industry and the expansion of their businesses are presenting lucrative opportunities for the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry. For instance, Coco-Cola which is considered the leading beverage company has expanded its warehouse in Singapore which values over USD 57 million. The warehouse has been equipped with automated storage and retrieval systems. On the other hand, the industrial sectors are enlarging the activities related to consumer goods, electronics, automotive, food and beverages, pharmaceutical, construction, and mining. Such a wide range of end-users is impacting the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry.

The increasing population and the favorable economic condition have increased the construction activities and restructuring projects. Moreover, government incentives have increased in this sector. Such factors have paved the way for the growth of the material handling equipment industry. Similarly, the rapid growth in the automotive industry, which intensively utilizes the material handling equipment for the efficient assembling processes and minimize the turnaround time. Such factors have increased the material handling equipment market value. 

Market Segmentation:

Segment overview:

Based on the product:

• Storage and Handling Equipment


• Automated Storage and Retrieval System


• Industrial Trucks


• Bulk Material Handling Equipment


• Others

Based on End-user applications:

• Automotive


• Food & Beverages


• Chemical


• Semiconductor & Electronics


• E-commerce


• Aviation


• Pharmaceutical


• Others

Based on equipment:

• Storage & handling equipment


• Racks


• Stacking frames


• Shelves, bins & drawers


• Mezzanines


• Industrial trucks


• Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)


• Hand, platform & pallet trucks

Based on the component:

• Order pickers


• Pallet jacks


• Side loaders


• Walkie stackers


• Bulk material handling equipment


• Conveyor belts


• Stackers


• Reclaimers


• Elevators


• Robotics

Based on technology:

• Automate Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS)


• Unit load AS/RS


• Mini load AS/RS

Regional analysis:

Currently, the Asia-pacific region is expected to dominate the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry with a healthy CAGR of 9.7% during the forecast period. This is due to the increasing demand in the automotive, manufacturing, and other significant end-user industries. The countries such as South Korea, China, and Taiwan are increasingly adopting modern material handling methods in recent years to cater to the increasing production services. 

On the other hand, North America is also expected to have a substantial growth in material handling equipment which is due to the increasing sales across the region due to the e-commerce industry. The increasing growth of durable and non-durable goods is propelling the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry. Moreover, North America is adopting automated warehouse practices across the region is fuelling the overall growth of the material handling equipment industry.

Competitive landscape:

• Manitowoc (Wisconsin, United States)


• BEUMER GROUP (Beckum, Germany)


• KION GROUP AG (Frankfurt, Germany)


• Eisenmann SE (Böblingen, Germany)


• Crown Equipment Corporation (Ohio, United States)


• Daifuku Co., Ltd (Osaka, Japan)


• Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. (Ohio, United States)

Recent developments:

In the year 2019, one of the leading market players, Godrej has decided to expand their product portfolio and introduced the Godrej Ren TRUST equipment which offers solutions to the client to manage the manpower, machine, and fuel efficiency. The equipment ensures safe operation and serves varied end-user industries such as e-commerce, airports, and manufacturing industries, and so on. Godrej Ren trust is a digital monitoring system that provided end-to-end encryption which has incorporated the IoT facility that enables the fleet management system and helps in tracking the fleet productivity, feet utilization, and equipment uptime. 

In the year 2018, one of the leading market players, capital works has joined hands with C&M conveyor which specializes in the corrugated box industries. This acquisition has increased the overall growth of material handling equipment.

Report overview:

This report has covered:

• Market overview


• COVID 19 Analysis


• Market dynamics


• Cumulative growth analysis


• Value chain analysis


• Segment overview


• Regional analysis


• Competitive landscape


• Recent developments

Segmentation Table:

Based on the product:

• Storage and Handling Equipment


• Automated Storage and Retrieval System


• Industrial Trucks


• Bulk Material Handling Equipment


• Others

Based on End-user applications:

• Automotive


• Food & Beverages


• Chemical


• Semiconductor & Electronics


• E-commerce


• Aviation


• Pharmaceutical


• Others

Based on equipment:

• Storage & handling equipment


• Racks


• Stacking frames


• Shelves, bins & drawers


• Mezzanines


• Industrial trucks


• Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)


• Hand, platform & pallet trucks

Based on the component:

• Order pickers


• Pallet jacks


• Side loaders


• Walkie stackers


• Bulk material handling equipment


• Conveyor belts


• Stackers


• Reclaimers


• Elevators


• Robotics

Based on technology:

• Automate Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS)


• Unit load AS/RS


• Mini load AS/RS