Symbiotic is an appropriate word to describe the relationship between a rental company and its suppliers. Without one another, neither would be as successful. But just like any relationship between human beings, the rental company/equipment manufacturer relationship requires constant care, attention and massaging from all the people involved. And logically, as is also typical with human relationships, the one between rental companies and equipment manufacturers is easier during good times than in bad.

It's fair to say the economy in North America today is challenged, and these are not the easiest of times for the construction market or the parties that serve it. As a result, rental companies and equipment suppliers are working harder than ever to maintain and grow the partnerships they have in place, despite the rising costs of doing business.

Materials costs have risen sharply over the past several years as have fuel costs, and, naturally, equipment suppliers are passing along some of these costs to customers in the initial sales prices of machines. So how are these price increases affecting those important partnerships and how are rental companies managing the cost increases in their day-to-day operations?

For Paul Bennett, vice president of sales and marketing for Boise, Idaho-based Tates Rents, the higher cost of equipment has caused the company to first carefully consider whether or not to sell used fleet and then whether to replace it with late-model used machines or with brand new machines.

For Greenville, S.C.-based AMECO the overall spike in equipment costs has led the company to analyze all of its equipment categories to determine which ones should remain at the core of the company's fleet offering, and for which ones the cost of ownership has become too high to reasonably recoup the costs with rental rates.