As I've driven to the RER office these past few months, certain roadside sights have become as familiar as the permanent landmarks on Pacific Coast Highway. There's the Malibu Pier — off-limits for years, still famous thanks to Hollywood — and there are the compressors, booms and cranes helping restore it to former glory. There's the stretch of million-dollar, one-bedroom homes, and there's the crew armed with power tools and a dump truck adding a second floor.

There are generators, backhoes, light towers, lifts of all sizes, compactors, water trucks, screeds and more — enough equipment to fill a small trade show — along the 12-plus miles of PCH that I travel each way, each workday. Like the family coming up with word games to pass the time on road trips, I'm noting how many types of equipment I see and how many manufacturer and rental company names are on the scene.

In a place where mudslides, fires and earthquakes take turns making news, there's usually something happening on PCH that involves heavy machinery. Nowadays, in addition to several smaller residential and commercial projects, a major sewer overhaul is entering its fifth month.

As I obey the speed limits and take in the view, I'm seeing firsthand the world that RER writes about every month. The rental industry is alive and well here on PCH, and it comes in many shapes and sizes.

Along my 15-minute coastal commute, I've seen a virtual roll call of the RER 100, side by side, in the names of Ivy Hi-Lift, Prime Equipment, Sunbelt, United and NationsRent. All of them fierce competitors, all with machines out on rent — often on the same job site. I've also seen the independents getting a piece of the action, including A-1 Coast, Total, Allied and Eagle. Seems there's enough for everyone — if you've got the iron, you've got business.

As this month's cover story, which begins on page 40, examines, equipment rental opportunities are expanding, even as the economy cools (and the lights go out on the West Coast). Now President Bush's 2002 budget proposal provides $27 billion in highway funding, close to $7 billion for mass-transit construction and more than $3 billion for airport construction.

That kind of construction-friendly support should keep more than PCH busy. Just keep your eyes on the road.