The American Rental Association (ARA) has released its updated forecast for the North American equipment rental industries.
In its latest forecast, the ARA explained the Canadian rental industry finished 2024 with $5.73 billion in revenue, a 6.1 per cent growth compared to 2023.
This year, the ARA projects the Canadian construction and general tool rental industry will reach $5.95 billion, a 3.7 per cent growth. On the horizon, the Canadian rental industry is projected to grow 7.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent in 2026 and 2027.
“Equipment rental penetration hit a record in the past quarter as rental customers continue to accept the solutions provided by rental companies,” said Tom Doyle, ARA Vice President, Program Development.
“For 2025, while the forecast calls for growth in the equipment segment, that growth softens. Our quarterly ARA member surveys confirmed they expect growth in Q1 of 2025.”
In the United States, the construction and general tool rental industry finished 2024 as an $83.3 billion industry, an 8 per cent growth from 2023. Additionally, the industry is projected to grow 5.2 per cent in 2025, totaling $87.5 billion.
Beyond 2025, growth is projected to slow to 4.1 per cent and 4 per cent in 2026 and 2027 respectively. This corresponds with projected moderated investment in both the construction and general tool industries in the coming years.
“Economic uncertainty and relatively high financing costs … weigh on the outlook for investment,” said Scott Hazelton, Managing Director at S&P Global, the international forecasting firm that compiles data and analysis for the ARA forecast.
“However, this is little risk of a serious downturn, and equipment rental can gain penetration in uncertain times. Our equipment rental outlook for 2025 has been lowered from our view last quarter, however, we still project equipment rental growth at about twice the rate of real GDP and inflation.”
Notably, as businesses chose rental over ownership, the construction and industrial equipment (CIE) rental penetration rate increased for the fourth year in a row to 57 per cent in 2024, making penetration higher than the pre-pandemic peak.
Alongside the updated revenue projections, the ARA also shared industry contributions to key economic metrics.
The equipment rental industry directly, indirectly, or induced supplies 666,000 jobs in the United States. The industry provides $47.4 billion in wages and contributes $115 billion in GDP, directly and indirectly. The American Rental Association is an international trade association for owners of equipment and event rental businesses and the manufacturers and suppliers of construction/industrial, general tool, and event rental equipment. ARA membership includes more than 14,000 rental businesses and more than 1,000 manufacturers and suppliers in Canada and the United States.
