The American Rental Association (ARA) indicates in its latest quarterly forecast that the U.S. equipment rental industry’s 2024 growth projection is slowing.
ARA’s new projection indicates an 8.9 percent revenue increase in 2024, totaling $78.7 billion in construction and general tool rental revenue. The latest projections also call for 5.3 percent growth in 2025.
The association’s third-quarter economic forecast is down from its second-quarter projection of a 9.7 percent increase that totals $79.2 billion.
By segment, ARA projects construction and industrial rental revenue to be $62.3 billion this year while general tool rental revenue is expected to total $16.4 billion.
“While the rental industry and opportunities continue to expand, we are experiencing softer growth,” says Tom Doyle, vice president of program development at ARA. “The ARA quarterly survey results confirm this softening.”
The updated forecast for Canadian equipment rental revenue shows 6.6 percent growth in 2024, totaling $5.75 billion. That compares to last quarter’s ARA projection of 7.2 percent growth that totaled $5.79 billion.
By segment, ARA says general tool and construction and industrial equipment (CIE) are both expected to see growth.
Canadian CIE revenue in 2024 is projected to be $4.67 billion, while Canadian general tool revenue this year is projected to be $1.08 billion.
“I wouldn’t characterize Canada’s economy as robust, but CIE is one of the strongest investments in particular,” says Scott Hazelton, managing director at S&P Global. “We do expect the economy to get stronger as a whole by 2027.”
