Belt conveyors are the most commonly used bulk handling conveyors in history due to their reliability, flexibility, and range of capacities. Materials from fine powders to large, lumpy stones can be handled on a belt conveyor, and these conveyor belts are used in a wide variety of material transport applications such as manufacturing, food processing, and heavy industry.

Belt construction and materials are often application-specific. Belt materials and configurations vary for specific uses such as: roofing shingle conveying, quarrey gravel transport, and a very wide variety of others. Commercial applications include:

Agriculture
Construction – heavy building materials
Food and beverage processing
Forestry – logging, sawmill, paper pulp, etc.
Mining and quarrying
Factory production line