As the regionalization of trucking increases and last-mile delivery continues to take up a larger slice of the freight market, truck buying strategies and specifications are evolving. Carriers that used to run only Class 8 sleepers are adding day cabs; OEMs are expanding their medium-duty product lines to fill growing market segments; and sales of pickup and delivery equipment is booming.
The changing marketplace offers massive growth opportunities for many specific product categories, such as liftgates.
Despite a supply chain that continues to slow new truck and trailer production, demand for liftgates has never been higher. And with industry projections showing the regionalization and final-mile centricity of truck transportation likely to continue, liftgate manufacturers are tirelessly connecting with OEMs, chassis manufacturers, upfitters and truck owners to ensure their product offerings are known and available to the industry.
“We are seeing a high demand for all our products across all segments,” says Martin Saint, vice president, sales and product management for Hiab Tail Lifts, makers of the Waltco liftgate line. After two years of reduced demand due to the pandemic, Saint says Hiab Tail now has orders through December 2023, which reflects the market demand and the increased lead times now found in trucking’s stressed out supply chain.
“[Our] supply is low but demand continues to grow,” adds Gene Ayres, Palfinger vice president, sales, Liftgate division. “Especially in the medium-duty truck segment of the business.”
Unlike many product lines with skyrocketing demand in 2022, liftgates aren’t a new development in the trucking space. The Palfinger and Hiab Tail Class 2-8 product portfolios each include approximately a dozen models, many of which have been established for years. But as more carriers look for tools to increase loading and unloading time, liftgates are seeing more interest across the industry.
That’s provided a good challenge for their manufacturers, which are trying to optimize their production lines to ensure they have the capacity necessary to meet demand from OEMs as their product capabilities hopefully increase in the months ahead. The manufacturers say they know demand will increase with production.
