Rental Equipment Register (RER), a leading information source for the rental industry, today announced the release of its annual RER 100 listing. The 2011 listing marks the 25^th anniversary of the RER 100 which began in 1986 as the RER 50 and expanded to the RER 100 in 1990. At the top of the list for the 12^th straight year was United Rentals. United Rentals was followed in the top 10 by RSC Equipment Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals, Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., Home Depot Rentals, Aggreko North America, Ahern Rentals, Maxim Crane Rentals, Finning and NES Rentals.

The 100 listed companies combined for a total of $10.26 billion (based on 2010 rental volume), less than a 1-percent decline compared to $10.312 billion in 2009. The first half of 2010 was much like 2009 — uncertain, with weak demand and a lack of customer confidence. The second half brought increased activity, far greater confidence in the marketplace, and more business in general. United Rentals posted $830 million in rental revenue in the first two quarters combined and then improved better than 20 percent in the second half with third and fourth quarters combining for slightly more than $1 billion. RSC also improved by more than 20 percent in the second half, with combined third- and fourth-quarter rental volume of $579 million, compared with $481 million in the first two quarters.

“While revenues tended to be flat, RER 100 companies reported a significant difference between the first half of the year and the second half, with significant improvements in customer demand, enhanced utilization and improving rental rates in the second half, while the first half bore resemblance to the slump of 2009,” said RER editor Michael Roth. “More significant was a feeling of confidence among the leadership of the RER 100 companies themselves and their customers. Most RER 100 executives also reported that 2011 is starting off strong. We don’t expect a dramatic boom year, but we do expect a significant improvement in 2011.”

Figures for the RER 100 are obtained from records of public companies, numbers reported by participating companies and estimates by the RER staff. The RER 100 is printed in the May issue of RER and available online at www.rermag.com.

RER has covered the equipment rental industry since 1957, providing its readers with a mix of news, features and product information.