Do not underestimate the Chinese, says the author of dhf-intralogistik's newest world ranking list of forklift manufacturers.

Wolfgang Degenhard, editor of the German logistics magazine and the 2008-09 list, says that China has grown into a "real industrial nation that must be taken seriously" and is no longer an emerging market.

"The Asian market is becoming more and more interesting each year," Degenhard says in his comments on the list.

"The CeMAT Asia trade show, which took place in October in Shanghai, made it clear ...The number of exhibitors, visitors and square metres has always risen at this event," he says.

He adds that the Chinese have an ever-increasing number of large, certified manufacturing facilities and that the "important manufacturers'" units are CE-approved, and in many cases, the vehicles are developing into high-tech units, "if a little slowly".

"The only thing that requires improvement is after-sales and service coverage. However, that is just a question of time," Degenhard says.

In the latest world ranking, leading Chinese forklift manufacturers Heli and Hangcha have switched positions while another large manufacturer, Dalian Forklift, is new to the list. Hangcha, which sold EUR346 million (USD470 million) of forklifts in 2008, is now 16th while Heli with its EUR317 million (USD431 million) turnover is ranked 17th. Newcomer Dalian, which manufactures forklifts up to 45 tonne capacities, sold EUR74 million (USD100.5 million) of industrial trucks to come in 23rd place.

Degenhard says his editorial team would have liked to include Chinese companies like Ningbo Ruyi Joint Stock and Hytsu Group in Shanghai but did not receive information from the companies.

Baoli has "left" the list as it has belonged to the Kion Group since 2009. Finnish company Rocla Oyj is in the list for the last time because it became a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe BV at the end of 2008. The company in Almere, the Netherlands is owned by the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Toyota is still on top of dhf-intralogistik's world ranking list, leading by EUR288 million (USD391 million) to second-placed Kion. This year, Nacco overtook Jungheinrich, ranking third, while the German manufacturer placed fourth.

In the ranking list comments, Nacco is reported to have increased its turnover by 6.2% but reported a net loss of USD438 million.

Christina Kmetko, Nacco's investor relations consultant, tells Forkliftaction.com News that US accounting rules required the company take a non-cash write-off of goodwill and other intangible assets totaling nearly USD438 million, as the company's stock price at the end of 2008 was significantly below the company's book value of tangible assets and book value of equity. The goodwill and intangibles were incurred mainly from acquisitions in the late '80s and early '90s.

Kmetko says the reported loss was not reflective of the company's true operations for the year ended 31 December 2008.

"If you remove the effect of the charges, consolidated adjusted income for the year ended 31 December 2008 was USD23.8 million or USD2.87 per share," she says. This compares with net income in 2007 of USD90.4 million. On this basis, NMHG Wholesale had adjusted income of USD4.5 million in 2008 compared to a net income of USD48.2 million in 2007 while NMHG Retail had an adjusted loss of USD3.4 million compared to 2007's net loss of USD8.9 million.

Dhf-intralogistik editor Wolfgang Degenhard says that while his team prioritises accuracy, it is possible that the list could contain errors due to the large amount of information, different definitions and financial regulations from the individual countries that his team goes through. He says corrections will appear in the next ranking list.

Noteworthy on the list is Combilift Ltd, the four-way forklift specialist. Since appearing in the 1999/2000 list, the company has been picking up speed, with an increase in turnover of almost 58% in 2003/04. For the financial year under review (1 Sept 2007 - 31 Aug 2008), turnover rose from EUR85 million to EUR95 million (USD115.4 million to USD129 million).

Clark has been thriving under the leadership of South Korean conglomerate Young An since it took over the bankrupt group in 2003. In 2008, according to information dhf-intralogistik received, Clark's turnover increased about 62% from USD453 million to USD732 million. Consequently, the company moved up three spots to 12th position in the ranking.

The list included manufacturers which achieved a turnover of at least EUR10.2 million (USD13.9 million) from motorised materials handling vehicles during the year under review. Manual hand pallet trucks were not considered in the turnover.

Most European companies' fiscal year coincided with the end of the calendar year, while Japanese companies' fiscal year typically end on 31 March.

The effect of the global economic downturn was more evident in 2009 and this reflected in the turnover of companies with fiscal years that ended last year.

Companies in the list with fiscal years that ended in 2008 typically reported a rise in annual turnover with Carer, EP, Dalian, Nuova Detas, Miag and CZ Strakonice as exceptions.

Godrej was another exception to the rule as it was one of the few companies to report a rise in annual turnover despite its financial year ending in 2009.

The full listing can be found here.