Consolidation in the Material Handling Industry

Consolidation in the Material Handling Industry

The First Quarter 2011 issue of The MHEDA Journal, the leading online magazine for the forklift, conveyor, storage & handling, and general material handling equipment industries, was mailed to subscribers on January 31. This issue features an article on merger and acquisition activity in the material handling industry. Seventeen material handling equipment distributors offer their thoughts on the impact such M&A and consolidation activity will have on the industry's future.

Opinions came down on all sides of theissue, though most of the distributors interviewed for this story concluded that consolidation is a good thing for the industry. One distributor says, "It is an enormous positive for the industry. We have too many manufacturers. We have too many distributors. This environment is good in the sense that it is allowing for consolidation at both levels, which will make the industry as a whole more efficient going forward." Another distributor says, "Quite honestly, I'm surprised that there hasn't been more contraction among distributors. This has been such a difficult downturn for many of us that I would have expected to see more consolidation with independent distributors."

On the other hand, some distributors see industry consolidation as a bad thing. "In the short term, distributors are getting squeezed because the lack of business has prompted more manufacturers to go direct." Another distributor says, "There is a dynamic shift in the structure of dealers and their usefulness in the long-term future. A small dealer may still have viability some places, but in the major metropolitan areas, small dealers' days may be numbered."

Read the full article, titled "Distributors Speak Out," in the First Quarter 2011 issue of The MHEDA Journal Online at http://www.themhedajournal.org/index.php/2011/01/distributors-speak-out/. The MHEDA Journal is published quarterly, in January, April, July and October. For more information, contact Chris Powers, editor of The MHEDA Journal, (315) 445-2347, e-mail: chris@datakey.org. MHEDA publications are the industry's voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning the movement, handling and storage of all materials. A 501(c)3 organization, MHEDA members span all of North America.

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