Dear Potential Regular Member:
On behalf of the ITA Board of Directors, we are pleased to learn of your interest in the association and its activities. We would certainly welcome an application from you to join many of your competitors and suppliers who find membership to be beneficial.
Please let me highlight some of the services we offer to the manufacturers of forklifts who distribute products in the U.S., Canada and/or Mexico. Our programs are grouped into three broad categories — engineering, statistical and educational. You, or senior level managers that you designate, will be invited to attend all meetings and to participate fully in each of our programs. Please contact ITA at 202-296-9880 for information on when the next meeting will be held. We would be delighted if you could attend.
In addition to the camaraderie that participating in meetings generates, let me detail the specific programs. First of all, in statistics, you would receive various monthly reports that give a relatively complete picture of what the market looks like. For instance:
- On the 12th and 22rd of each month, you would receive a report showing the Gross Orders, Cancellations and Net Orders for each of five truck classes during the prior 10 day period in the U.S. and Canadian Marketplace.
- On the 5th of each month, you would receive a report showing the Gross Orders, Cancellations, Net Orders and Shipments for each of five truck classes in the U.S. and Canadian Marketplace.
- On a monthly basis, you would receive a report showing the dollar volume of service parts shipments.
- On a monthly basis, you would receive a field and factory inventory report.
- On a monthly basis you would receive our “Industry Factory Summary.” These show the Net Orders, as well as, Shipments and Unfilled Orders in each of five truck categories for the United States, Canada, Mexico, U.S. Federal Government and Export. The report looks like this:
| Truck Class | Market Sector | Activity |
| 1 | U.S. Federal Government | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
| 1 | U.S. Domestic | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
| 1 | Canada | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
| 1 | Export | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
| 1 | Mexico | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
| 1 | Total | Net Orders, Shipments, Unfilled Orders |
This information is reported for each of five truck classes. What are the classes and who reports in them? To answer this question you need to consult the Membership Directory and the Product Matrix, copies of which have been included.
You will also receive figures showing net bookings for the current month and for the year-to-date according to truck class, market sector, lift capacity and engine type, i.e., electric, gasoline, diesel, LP Gas and CNG. Again, a quick look at the Product Matrix will reveal the coding. This segment of the report will look as follows:
| Truck Class | Market Sector | Lift Power | Capacity | Orders | Year to Date |
| 1 | Domestic(U.S.) | 01 | 020025030 | 3520 | 101555 |
| Total | 28 | 80 | |||
| 05 | 020025070 | 55010 | 106520 | ||
| Total | 65 | 95 |
This breakdown is repeated for each Truck Class in each Market Sector.
In addition to the factory order information, you would also receive current and year-to-date retail orders and shipments information by Truck Class, Market Sector and Geographic Location. This report (Retail Orders/Shipment by Geography) looks like this:
| Truck Class | Market Sector | State/County | Current Orders | Year-to-Date | Current Shipments | Year-to-Date |
| 1 | Domestic (U.S.) | Bibb, AL | 1 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
As part of these more detailed statistics, you would receive a similar, although not quite as detailed, breakdown listing current month and year to date shipments according to truck class, market sector, month and SIC retail classification of the end-user.
| Truck Class | Market Sector | SIC Description | Current Month | Year-to-Date |
| 1 | Domestic | 0174 Citrus Foods | 8 | 15 |
New reports are being developed regarding the internal combustion lift truck market and will be incorporated into the monthly reports shortly.
There are three new IC reports, that report activity for the US, Canada and Mexico:
1. Factory Orders, Factory Shipments, Retail Orders and Retail Shipments by Lift Code/Power Code and Capacity code – the normal ITA capacity codes are used;
| Factory Orders* | |||||||
| Truck Class | Lift Code | Power Code | Cap. Code | US* | Canada* | Mexico* | Total* |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | IN030 | 60 | 23 | 8 | 51 |
* This report gives information for current month and year-to-date and has separate tabs for Factory Orders, Factory Shipments, Retail Orders and Retail Shipments.
2. Retail Shipments by State/Province Total and SIC code, with special capacity groups;
| Country Code | Country Name | State Code | State Desc. | SIC Desc. Code | Cap Group | Class 4 | CM | YTD |
| 124 | Canada | 81 | Alberta | 0139 | Field Crops | 5-5999 | 1 | 3 |
3. Retail Orders/Shipments by State/County, Division/Province using special capacity group
| Country Code | Country | State Code | State Description Code | County Group | Country Description | Capacity Group | Orders | Class 4 Shipments |
| 124 | Canada | 001 | Division 1 | 001 | Division 1 | 5-5999 | 10 | 2 |
Data is reported for Current Month and YTD)
All Regular Member companies are expected to participate in all of our statistics programs. These statistics are distributed electronically and members can download them directly into their company computer or print them.
ITA participates in a world-wide statistics program (WITS) with other associations. There are Monthly Order and Quarterly Shipments Reports. These detail relevant activity by Truck Class and Countries worldwide. Data is distributed in an Excel format electronically.
In addition to this extensive statistical program, we are also engaged, through our General Engineering Committee, in writing voluntary recommended practices that are submitted to American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American National Standards Institute and International Standards Organization for adoption. This gives the manufacturers an opportunity to speak about the technical problems endemic to performance and design safety. There are more than 10 projects currently under active consideration by the Committee. These efforts cover not only California Air Resources Board, Environmental Protection Agency, ASME and ANSI, but related issues from Center for European Normalization of Standards in Europe.
Sincerely yours,
Brian J. Feehan, President
