12th Annual National Forklift Safety Day event highlights ongoing focus on safety

The Industrial Truck Association’s (ITA’s) 12th-annual National Forklift Safety Day will take place on Tuesday, June 10, in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club.

The event, which will be both live and have a virtual attendance option, highlights the safe use of forklifts, the value of operator training, and the need for daily equipment checks.

Open to everyone, National Forklift Safety Day registration is open on ITA’s website. The format will remain the same as past years’ events with presentations from government representatives, safety experts and industry representatives.

The speakers for National Forklift Safety Day 2025 include:

• Brian Feehan, president, Industrial Truck Association
• Brett Wood, ITA chairman of the board, president and CEO, Toyota Material Handling North America
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (Invited)
• Ron Grisez, director of product safety, Crown Equipment Corporation
• Jonathan Fortkamp, PhD, CSP, senior director for health, safety and environment, DHL Supply Chain, North America
• Lisa Brooks, CIE, principal, Nexus HSE

“ITA is excited to host the 12th National Forklift Safety Day and to keep safety top of mind,” says Brian Feehan, president of ITA. “We understand the importance of effective forklift operator training, and ITA’s National Forklift Safety Day is meant to keep that discussion at the forefront year after year.”

To find out more about the event, visit ITA’s website (indtrk.org) and see the event’s tab.

ITA participates in international standards development for the industry. The association also advances engineering practices to promote safe products, disseminates statistical marketplace information, and provides industry forums for learning. ITA also annually tracks order data from members, regarding sales of industrial trucks in North America.

A large volume of industrial trucks are sold worldwide each year, just one indicator of how essential lift trucks remain to multiple industries. According ITA’s updated study on the industry, “Lifting America: The Economic Impact of Industrial Truck Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers,” conducted by Oxford Economics, in 2023, more than 2.1 million industrial trucks were ordered globally, with North America accounting for 249,000 units.

New orders in North American decreased in 2024, but the scale of the lift truck industry remains immense. The updated Lifting America study found that counting all direct and indirect impacts, in 2023, the industry generated $36.6 billion in GDP, including $12.8 billion in direct contributions from manufacturers and dealers/distributors.

Since industrial trucks are heavy equipment used across many industries at an immense scale, proper training and best practices help minimize the risk of injuries, and also help lessen the risk of fatal incidents.

According to the National Safety Council, in 2023, forklifts were involved in 67 work-related deaths. This is down compared to some years just a few years previous, but the fact remains, fatalities and serious injuries do occur, making lift truck safety a serious issue requiring continuous attention.