The American Rental Association released, at the recent Rental Show, key findings from a research project it undertook last year in partnership with Media, Pa.-based International Communications Research.

ARA’s research estimates rental revenue for the equipment rental industry at $23.8 million, which falls short of the $26.4 billion estimated by Mundelein, Ill.-based Manfredi & Associates, a summary of which was published in the February issue of RER. According to ARA’s research, the construction/industrial segment brought in $13.4 billion, the general tool $8.8 billion and the party/special event rental industry $1.6 billion.

ARA estimates the dollar value placed on rental equipment inventory at $34.1 billion in 2004, with $20.9 billion in the construction/industrial segment, $11.3 billion in general tool and $1.9 billion in party/special event.

The research estimates that the industry reinvests about $3.3 billion into new inventory on an annual basis, with $1.9 billion going into the construction/industrial segment, $1.2 billion into general tool and $200,000 into the party/special event segment.

The report doesn’t specifically estimate capital reinvestment on equipment for 2005, which reports indicate should be considerably higher. For example, according to the Associated Equipment Manufacturer rental advisor newsletter, 10 large companies will spend about $2.5 billion alone in 2005. This estimate does not include such rental giants as H&E Equipment Services, Ahern Rentals, Sunstate Equipment Rentals, Briggs Equipment, Volvo Rents and the Cat Rental Stores. The inclusion of those companies alone would bring capex for 2005 well over the $3.3 billion number, and the addition of additional RER 100 companies plus an additional 12,000 or more independent rental centers would boost the total well over that number.

The ARA research study estimates revenue potential for the industry at $30.7 billion in five years, a 28-percent growth over the next five years. The study predicts that the party/special event equipment segment will be the industry’s fastest-growing segment, with a 37.5-percent growth rate over the next five years.