IRN’s most read equipment rental stories of 2023

The most read stories are focused on the spending plans of the biggest rental companies, forecasts for rental growth, major rental acquisitions (of which there were few this year), developments in hydrogen power, and issues to do with China (including export ‘dumping’ allegations).

In no particular order, here are the 10 most-viewed stories on www.internationalrentalnews.com in 2023:

Loxam hits €1bn annual revenues in France
In September, Loxam chairman and CEO Gérard Déprez revealed the company had hit the €1 billion revenue threshold in France on a yearly basis for the first time. Déprez described the milestone as a “strong achievement with the long-term support and trust of our clients and the commitment of our employees.”

Sime Darby buys major Australian rental company
In March, Caterpillar dealer Sime Darby announced its acquisition of Australia’s Onsite Rental Group, one of the largest rental businesses in Australia, for A$635 million (€402 million). The deal gives Sime Darby a €300 million rental operation in Australia.

Winners of European Rental Awards celebrate in Maastricht
June saw the return of the European Rental Awards, with Renta Group, Key-Tec and Hilti among the winners. Max Rossi, formerly of Multirent, Avesco Rent and currently CGT Edilizia, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Speedy finalises hydrogen genset JV
The UK renter finalised a joint venture with hydrogen genset supplier AFC Energy in November. The two launched Speedy Hydrogen Solutions (SHS), a 50:50 company dedicated to renting hydrogen fuel cell powered generators. 

Ashtead reduces growth forecast
Ashtead Group said in November that a quiet hurricane season in North America and the film and TV strikes had led it to revise downwards its full-year guidance. Revenue growth is now expected to be in the 11-13% range rather than 13-16%.

Aggreko ups investment as business grows
Aggreko significantly increased fleet investment in the first nine months of the year with a focus on Tier 4 Final and Stage V gensets for North America and Europe and temperature control equipment in North America. The private equity owned business spent US$304 million on fleet in the first three quarters of the year, up 38% on the same period in 2022. 

European rental market forecast for slow down in 2023
The European Rental Association (ERA)  forecast rental growth in Europe to see a slow down of 2.7% in 2023. Its 2023 Market Report predicted a rental turnover of €29.7 billion and found that ‎higher borrowing costs and inflation were both impacting activity levels. 

China wrestles with rental growing pains
The Chinese rental market is facing “pain points” after more than eight years of dramatic growth, which has seen the total AWP rental fleet grow to more than half a million units. IRN reported from the 10th International Rental Conference (IRC), held in Shanghai on 23 October.

Boels reveals €551 million investment
Boels revealed in June that it had spent €551 million on “broadening and expanding” its rental equipment range in 2022. 

Chinese dumping allegations put western fleet owners on alert
The European Commission and the UK Trade Remedies Authority are responding to claims from western suppliers that ‘unusual commercial practices’ have emerged which are harmful to fair competition. The claims relate to mobile elevating work platforms in the EU and excavators in the UK.

Rental Briefing launch
During 2023 IRN launched Rental Briefing, a daily newsletter providing comment and analysis on the worldwide equipment rental industry.

The Briefing is edited by experienced construction industry journalist Jenny Lescohier. Subscribe to the newsletter at the following website: https://www.internationalrentalnews.com/rental-briefing