Forklift load capacity reduction — how to read the diagram? Load capacity reduction of a forklift involves the need to read the diagram. This causes difficulty for many people, as you can encounter different forms of presenting forklift load capacity parameters. Beginners believe that tables are the easiest to read, but charts pose quite a challenge. Regardless of the form of presentation, it’s worth knowing that a forklift load capacity diagram always contains data in three types.

Forklift load capacity reduction — data types

  • distance of the load’s center of gravity from the fork face (C), i.e., the distance expressed in millimeters of the load’s center from the fork face. This rule will apply to loads with regular shapes (in most cases rectangular) and evenly distributed weight. In their case, the geometric center will coincide with the center of gravity,
  • lifting height (H), i.e., the height expressed in millimeters to which a given forklift will be able to lift the load,
  • load weight (Q) – the weight of the given load, expressed in kilograms,


When we combine these three types of data, we get an answer to the question of how high we can lift a load with a specific mass. Its center of gravity is located at a specific distance from the front point of the forks. To do this, it’s enough to read the appropriate row in the table or look for the intersection point of three lines on the chart. This can be the lifting height line, load weight line, and also the distance of the load’s center of gravity from the fork face. Knowing this data, we can easily determine the height to which we can safely lift the load. If we know its dimensions and the height to which we must lift it, then using the load capacity diagram we can easily determine the maximum safe weight of the load.

You should also learn to determine three types of load capacity to understand the diagrams. These three types are:

  • maximum load capacity, i.e., the largest permissible load mass expressed in kilograms that a given model can lift
  • nominal load capacity, i.e., the maximum load mass that a specific forklift can lift to a height determined by the forklift manufacturer. While maintaining the nominal distance of the load’s center of gravity from the fork face
  • reduced load capacity, i.e., the maximum load mass that the forklift can safely lift. The center of gravity is located at a distance greater than nominal from the front point of the forks, or it has been lifted to a height higher than specified by the manufacturer for nominal load capacity purposes.