Commercial & Industrial Equipment Rental & Leasing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry rent and lease equipment to commercial and industrial entities for use in business operations. Major US companies include Hertz, Sunbelt Rentals, and United Rentals.

The US commercial and industrial equipment rental and leasing industry includes more than 8,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $45 billion and is expected to grow at a moderate rate over the next two years. Key growth drivers include leasing medical equipment and establishing national account programs for large customers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by business and industrial activity, particularly in nonresidential construction. The profitability of individual companies depends on the merchandising mix and cost of financing rental inventory. Large companies have economies of scale in buying equipment and having multiple outlets to share equipment. Small companies can compete effectively by providing specialty products for a local market and by offering superior customer service. The industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for more than half of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major rental and leasing product categories are heavy construction equipment (35 percent of revenue); aircraft, steamships and tugboats, and railroad cars (20 percent); and office equipment and computers (5 percent). Other rental product categories include machinery; lawn and garden equipment; audio/visual, motion picture, and theatrical equipment; and medical equipment.

Businesses lease or rent rather than buy equipment due to the equipment's high cost or to meet a temporary business need. Commercial rental companies typically ...