Lift truck industry celebrates National Forklift Safety Day 2023 with special offers, events, and recommendations
Here are just a few of the ways forklift manufacturers and dealers will be helping fleet managers and operators observe this year’s National Forklift Safety Day.
The main event for National Forklift Safety Day 2023 will be a conference featuring experts from OSHA, forklift manufacturers, and an industrial safety consulting firm, hosted by the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) on June 13 in Washington, D.C. The two-hour program, which begins at 9 a.m. Eastern, is free and open to all, but advance registration is required. Can’t be there in person? You can attend virtually! Click here to register for the livestream.
In addition to the Washington program, lift truck manufacturers, dealers, and providers of associated products and services will offer training classes, webinars, and other information resources to help customers keep forklift safety top of mind. The following are just a few examples:
On Wednesday, June 14, at 12 p.m. Eastern, join Yale Lift Truck Technologies for a virtual demonstration of the Edison Award-winning Yale Reliant operator assistance system. The technology suite helps support lift truck operating best practices by automatically limiting truck performance based on equipment status, location-specific rules, and operating conditions, while keeping the operator in ultimate control of the truck. Click here to register for this FREE program.
On Monday, June 26, at 3 p.m. Eastern, Hyster Company will host a webinar on the critical components of facility layout, operator training, equipment selection, and the importance of fostering a safety-driven culture. Hyster experts will provide an overview of practical solutions designed to help optimize operations and reduce accidents, which can improve safety and productivity in material handling. Click here to register for this FREE program. Hyster is also offering free forklift safety posters, available online at Hyster.com/safety. These printable safety posters for forklift operation, pedestrian safety, and power source safety are available for download in English, Spanish, and French.
Crown Equipment is offering a free e-book, “An Integrated Approach to Forklift Safety,” which explains how to develop and implement an integrated and individualized approach to forklift safety. Download it now on crown.com.
In recognition of the 10th Annual National Forklift Safety Day, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas is participating in several safety-focused activities:
Logisnext executives will attend the 10th Annual Industrial Truck Association (ITA) National Forklift Safety Day event in Washington, D.C., which will include presentations from OSHA, industrial safety, and forklift industry experts.
On Tuesday, June 13, Logisnext employees across the company’s three campuses will celebrate the milestone occasion as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to focus on safety best practices.
To further raise awareness of the importance of forklift safety in the workplace, a marketing toolkit was made available to the Logisnext dealer network to help promote the “Safety First” campaign among dealership customers during the month of June.
Whether you attend a formal event or not, National Forklift Safety Day is an appropriate time to refocus your attention on forklift safety, and to be steadfast in creating a culture of safety, according to Toyota Material Handling. “We hold ourselves to a high standard because we understand the importance of creating a safe environment that is ingrained at all levels of our company. We challenge you to bring safety to the forefront of your operation. Toyota is proud to participate in National Forklift Safety Day as an industry leader and to use this valuable opportunity to educate customers, policymakers, and others about the significance of forklift safety.”
The Raymond Corporation is recognizing and thanking the forklift operators within its own facilities, and showing gratitude to all the forklift operators who keep operations constantly moving. “On National Forklift Safety Day, we wanted to help call attention to the forklift operators in warehousing, manufacturing, distribution, and other industries who keep operations running. … They are why we’re committed to offering solutions that help operators work more confidently and efficiently,” said Michael Field, President and CEO, The Raymond Corporation. Go to the company’s National Forklift Safety Day web page for a photo montage of forklift operator along with videos and other information about Raymond’s safety training programs and safety-enhancing technologies.
ReposiTrak, a global food traceability network operator, will partner with Upshop, a provider of store operations technology for food retailers, to create an end-to-end grocery traceability solution that reaches from the supply chain to the retail store, the firms said today.
The partnership creates a data connection between suppliers and the retail store. It works by integrating Salt Lake City-based ReposiTrak’s network of thousands of suppliers and their traceability shipment data with Austin, Texas-based Upshop’s network of more than 450 retailers and their retail stores.
That accomplishment is important because it will allow food sector trading partners to meet the U.S. FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act Section 204d (FSMA 204) requirements that they must create and store complete traceability records for certain foods.
And according to ReposiTrak and Upshop, the traceability solution may also unlock potential business benefits. It could do that by creating margin and growth opportunities in stores by connecting supply chain data with store data, thus allowing users to optimize inventory, labor, and customer experience management automation.
"Traceability requires data from the supply chain and – importantly – confirmation at the retail store that the proper and accurate lot code data from each shipment has been captured when the product is received. The missing piece for us has been the supply chain data. ReposiTrak is the leader in capturing and managing supply chain data, starting at the suppliers. Together, we can deliver a single, comprehensive traceability solution," Mark Hawthorne, chief innovation and strategy officer at Upshop, said in a release.
"Once the data is flowing the benefits are compounding. Traceability data can be used to improve food safety, reduce invoice discrepancies, and identify ways to reduce waste and improve efficiencies throughout the store,” Hawthorne said.
Under FSMA 204, retailers are required by law to track Key Data Elements (KDEs) to the store-level for every shipment containing high-risk food items from the Food Traceability List (FTL). ReposiTrak and Upshop say that major industry retailers have made public commitments to traceability, announcing programs that require more traceability data for all food product on a faster timeline. The efforts of those retailers have activated the industry, motivating others to institute traceability programs now, ahead of the FDA’s enforcement deadline of January 20, 2026.
Inclusive procurement practices can fuel economic growth and create jobs worldwide through increased partnerships with small and diverse suppliers, according to a study from the Illinois firm Supplier.io.
The firm’s “2024 Supplier Diversity Economic Impact Report” found that $168 billion spent directly with those suppliers generated a total economic impact of $303 billion. That analysis can help supplier diversity managers and chief procurement officers implement programs that grow diversity spend, improve supply chain competitiveness, and increase brand value, the firm said.
The companies featured in Supplier.io’s report collectively supported more than 710,000 direct jobs and contributed $60 billion in direct wages through their investments in small and diverse suppliers. According to the analysis, those purchases created a ripple effect, supporting over 1.4 million jobs and driving $105 billion in total income when factoring in direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts.
“At Supplier.io, we believe that empowering businesses with advanced supplier intelligence not only enhances their operational resilience but also significantly mitigates risks,” Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, said in a release. “Our platform provides critical insights that drive efficiency and innovation, enabling companies to find and invest in small and diverse suppliers. This approach helps build stronger, more reliable supply chains.”
Logistics industry growth slowed in December due to a seasonal wind-down of inventory and following one of the busiest holiday shopping seasons on record, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) report, released this week.
The monthly LMI was 57.3 in December, down more than a percentage point from November’s reading of 58.4. Despite the slowdown, economic activity across the industry continued to expand, as an LMI reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The LMI researchers said the monthly conditions were largely due to seasonal drawdowns in inventory levels—and the associated costs of holding them—at the retail level. The LMI’s Inventory Levels index registered 50, falling from 56.1 in November. That reduction also affected warehousing capacity, which slowed but remained in expansion mode: The LMI’s warehousing capacity index fell 7 points to a reading of 61.6.
December’s results reflect a continued trend toward more typical industry growth patterns following recent years of volatility—and they point to a successful peak holiday season as well.
“Retailers were clearly correct in their bet to stock [up] on goods ahead of the holiday season,” the LMI researchers wrote in their monthly report. “Holiday sales from November until Christmas Eve were up 3.8% year-over-year according to Mastercard. This was largely driven by a 6.7% increase in e-commerce sales, although in-person spending was up 2.9% as well.”
And those results came during a compressed peak shopping cycle.
“The increase in spending came despite the shorter holiday season due to the late Thanksgiving,” the researchers also wrote, citing National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that U.S. shoppers spent just short of a trillion dollars in November and December, making it the busiest holiday season of all time.
The LMI is a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
As U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face an uncertain business landscape in 2025, a substantial majority (67%) expect positive growth in the new year compared to 2024, according to a survey from DHL.
However, the survey also showed that businesses could face a rocky road to reach that goal, as they navigate a complex environment of regulatory/policy shifts and global market volatility. Both those issues were cited as top challenges by 36% of respondents, followed by staffing/talent retention (11%) and digital threats and cyber attacks (2%).
Against that backdrop, SMEs said that the biggest opportunity for growth in 2025 lies in expanding into new markets (40%), followed by economic improvements (31%) and implementing new technologies (14%).
As the U.S. prepares for a broad shift in political leadership in Washington after a contentious election, the SMEs in DHL’s survey were likely split evenly on their opinion about the impact of regulatory and policy changes. A plurality of 40% were on the fence (uncertain, still evaluating), followed by 24% who believe regulatory changes could negatively impact growth, 20% who see these changes as having a positive impact, and 16% predicting no impact on growth at all.
That uncertainty also triggered a split when respondents were asked how they planned to adjust their strategy in 2025 in response to changes in the policy or regulatory landscape. The largest portion (38%) of SMEs said they remained uncertain or still evaluating, followed by 30% who will make minor adjustments, 19% will maintain their current approach, and 13% who were willing to significantly adjust their approach.
Specifically, the two sides remain at odds over provisions related to the deployment of semi-automated technologies like rail-mounted gantry cranes, according to an analysis by the Kansas-based 3PL Noatum Logistics. The ILA has strongly opposed further automation, arguing it threatens dockworker protections, while the USMX contends that automation enhances productivity and can create long-term opportunities for labor.
In fact, U.S. importers are already taking action to prevent the impact of such a strike, “pulling forward” their container shipments by rushing imports to earlier dates on the calendar, according to analysis by supply chain visibility provider Project44. That strategy can help companies to build enough safety stock to dampen the damage of events like the strike and like the steep tariffs being threatened by the incoming Trump administration.
Likewise, some ocean carriers have already instituted January surcharges in pre-emption of possible labor action, which could support inbound ocean rates if a strike occurs, according to freight market analysts with TD Cowen. In the meantime, the outcome of the new negotiations are seen with “significant uncertainty,” due to the contentious history of the discussion and to the timing of the talks that overlap with a transition between two White House regimes, analysts said.