Used Equipment Prices Drop in October, Rouse Shows

Dec. 12, 2015

2 min read

The October Rouse Value Index for used equipment prices decreased to 45.0, down 0.6 percent from September values, following five consecutive months of declines primarily driven by weaker recoveries observed in auction transactions. While there has been some softness into the second half of 2015, the October Rouse Value Index remains 4 percent higher than the prior peak period of 43.3 in April 2007 and 51.7 percent higher than the prior trough period of 29.7 in June 20090.

October auction sales of rental and construction equipment tracked by Rouse averaged 5.1 percent lower than Rouse September forced liquidation values. Despite a stabilizing trend in October, this marks the seventh consecutive month of declining auction recoveries. Rouse attributes these declines to a combination of relative year-over-year increase in volume, equipment coming out of the oil and gas markets with heavier use than comparable equipment from the construction end markets, and weaker international demand coupled with lower purchasing power as a result of the stronger U.S. dollar.

During August, achieved rental rates, as measured by the Rouse Rate Index, increased 0.2 percent on average for the rental companies participating in the Souse Analytics Rental Metrics Benchmark Service.

For the latest Rouse report, go to: http://www.rouseservices.com/RentalReport/Rouse%20Rental%20Report%20-%20November%202015.pdf

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.