Welcome to the Industrial Truck Association!

Since its move to Washington, DC 25 years ago, ITA has experienced significant growth in membership—a membership that represents nearly every industrial truck manufacturer that does business in the United States, Canada or Mexico and many suppliers of component parts and accessories. ITA has experienced this growth because the services that it renders are essential to its Members’ success.

ITA’s services cover a broad spectrum of activities including a major statistics program where every Regular Member reports forklift orders and shipments by truck class, lift code, county and state for both orders and shipments, power source, lift capacity, and tire type. The statistics program expanded into the international realm reporting orders on a worldwide basis monthly, and shipments quarterly. ITA also helped establish the Alliance of Industrial Truck Organizations and has used that vehicle to gather information on the lift truck market in China. Former ITA President Jim Malvaso (Raymond) opened the door by keynoting the 2007 China Industrial Truck Association meeting, subsequent to which CITA was admitted to the Alliance. While primarily a US organization, ITA members acknowledged the fact that this business is truly international. This was first initiated through the North American Free Trade Association, and subsequently through the World Trade Organization.

In addition to statistics, ITA was instrumental in assisting the transition of the management of the B 56 series of standards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation (ITSDF). ITSDF took the unprecedented step of making all of its standards available without charge via the web (www.itsdf.org). While ITA continues to subsidize the ITSDF mission, ITSDF continues to seek contributions of time and money to make the organization self-sufficient in future years.

ITA has also taken the lead in developing a new set of international standards affecting our products through the ISO. This has been next to a Herculean effort, with members supplying engineering expertise, employee time and precious financial resources in an effort to maintain free market access around the globe. That effort will soon bear fruit.

Finally, through meetings of its numerous committees, ITA seeks to bring its members together to discuss items of common interest. We’ve worked hard with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to conduct compliance officer training seminars, provide workplace safety materials and to link mutually beneficial information through our websites. (www.indtrk.org)

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are involved in the industrial truck market and the material handling industry, ITA is the place for you.