What Is a Cargo Lift?
A cargo lift, or freight lift, is a lift designed primarily for moving goods. What makes a cargo lift, or freight lift, special is its ability to carry very heavy loads. Let’s take a closer look at freight lifts — their types, special features, advantages, disadvantages and common applications — to help you choose the option that best fits your needs.
How Many Types of Cargo Lift Are There?
Cargo lifts, or freight lifts, are essential in many industries for moving heavy goods vertically inside a building, from warehouses and factories to retail stores and office buildings. These lifts play a key role in keeping operations running smoothly, making it easy to move goods between lower and upper levels.
Freight lifts can be classified in two ways: by the lift’s drive system, or by how they are used. Understanding the classification criteria — such as load capacity, travel speed and installation requirements — is essential in helping you decide which lift is right for you.
1. Cargo Lifts by Drive System
By drive system, there are three main types:
1.1 Traction (Cable) Cargo Lift
This freight lift works much like a pulley system, using steel ropes and a counterweight driven by an electric motor to travel up and down. It is often called a service lift.
- Advantages: High speed, energy efficient and well suited to tall buildings
- Disadvantages: Higher installation cost, more complex maintenance, and it needs a lift machine room above
- Common applications: Warehouses, department stores and high-rise office buildings that move goods frequently
You can read more in our article What Is a Traction Lift and How Does It Work?
1.2 Hydraulic Freight Lift
A hydraulic freight lift uses a hydraulic cylinder to raise the car. The system works by pumping hydraulic fluid into the cylinder, pushing the piston up to lift the car.
- Advantages: High capacity, smooth and quiet operation, and relatively low installation cost
- Disadvantages: Slower than traction lifts, needs more space for the hydraulic pump and fluid tank, and carries a risk of fluid leaks
- Common applications: Warehouses, low-rise buildings, and environments that demand high capacity and durability
You can read more in our article What Is a Hydraulic Lift? How It Works, Plus Its Pros and Cons
1.3 Screw-Driven Cargo Lift
A screw-driven cargo lift, such as the Cibes Extra A8000 large-platform lift from Cibes Lift, uses a screw-and-nut mechanism to move the car up and down.
- Advantages: Compact design, smooth and precise operation, and low maintenance
- Disadvantages: Slower than traction lifts, and limited to buildings of no more than 6 floors
- Common applications: Small to medium warehouses, retail stores, clinics and hospitals, and environments with structural load limitations
You can read more in our article What Is a Screw-Driven Lift and Why Is It the Lift of the Future?
2. Cargo Lifts by Application
By application, there are three main types:
2.1 Industrial Freight Lift
Designed specifically for use in factories and warehouses, these lifts are built to carry heavy loads.
- Advantages: Very high capacity, rugged construction, and customizable to the specific needs of an industry
- Disadvantages: High installation and maintenance costs, and a large space requirement
- Common applications: Manufacturing plants, heavy-equipment factories and large warehouses
2.2 Sidewalk Lift
Sidewalk lifts are used to move goods from street level on the sidewalk down to the basement.
- Advantages: Efficient use of urban space, safe access from street level, and durable design
- Disadvantages: Limited to low-rise buildings, and requires effective waterproofing and drainage
- Common applications: Urban retail stores, restaurants and buildings with direct street access
A little more about sidewalk lifts: in fact, this type of lift is not yet widespread in Thailand, but it is common in the United States and Europe. It is mostly used to move goods straight from ground level down to the basement without having to go into the building, which saves time. It is also used as a waste lift, where a building stores its rubbish in the basement to keep unpleasant odors away, and when the garbage truck arrives the waste can be raised to the sidewalk for the collectors to take away right there.
2.3 Specialized Freight Lifts
Some industries need freight lifts built for a specific purpose.
- Parking Lift: Most often seen in luxury condominiums, where a car can be driven in and parked to save parking space inside the building
- Car Lift: Used in motorcycle and car dealerships and repair garages to move vehicles between floors
- Dumbwaiter Lift: Designed to move food and beverages safely and hygienically in hotels and restaurants
- Cold Storage Lift: This type of lift is built to operate in deep-freeze environments. Some cold storage lifts come with Built-in Heating Systems to protect lift components from the cold so the lift does not stop working, which makes them ideal for food processing plants and cold warehouses
Hospital Lift : This type of lift is not specifically for goods. It is mainly used to move patient beds, transferring patients between departments on different floors.
What to Look for When Buying a Cargo Lift
Freight lifts in warehouses and storage facilities
Choosing the right cargo lift means weighing up several features.
- Load capacity: Make sure the lift you are considering can carry the maximum weight you expect to move
- Speed: High-speed lifts such as traction freight lifts need more installation space to operate safely, while slower lifts such as screw-driven freight lifts may let you install a lift in a limited space
- Safety features: Look for lifts with advanced safety features such as overload sensors, emergency brakes and locking devices
- Durability and maintenance: Choose a lift with a durable design, and consider lift maintenance fees and the cost over its service life
Finally, when buying a lift you should also look at the lift installation company itself — how trustworthy it is, how much installation experience it has, and how good its after-sales service is.
Cargo Lift Regulations and Standards
Construction hoists, one type of temporary material lift
Complying with regulations and standards is essential to operating a cargo lift safely.
- International standards: You should study the standards that apply to lifts, such as EN 81 (the European standard for safety in the construction and installation of lifts) and ASME A17.1 (the American standard for elevators and escalators)
- Standards for installing a cargo lift in Thailand: You should make sure the installation meets every Thai safety requirement, such as
- Ministerial Regulation on the Standards for Administration, Management and Implementation of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Environment Relating to Machinery, Cranes and Boilers, B.E. 2564
- Notification of the Ministry of Interior on Safety in Construction Work Concerning Temporary Material Hoists
- Why compliance matters: Failing to comply can lead to serious safety risks, legal problems and greater liability
A cargo lift is an indispensable facility for many businesses, especially sites and operations that need to move heavy goods up and down efficiently. Understanding the different types of freight lift — their advantages, disadvantages and specialized uses — lets you make the best-informed decision for your operational needs. If you are interested in a large screw-driven lift that is easy to install, comes with a lift shaft with no need to dig a lift pit and saves the most space compared with other lift systems, get in touch today — or read our article 2-Floor Home Lift Price for an initial price estimate!
