Survey reveals rental confidence fall

Rental company confidence worldwide has taken a significant hit following the banking/credit crisis, with the latest IRN Rental Confidence Survey finding that half of all surveyed companies will invest less in equipment next year and one in ten will close depots.

The survey reveals almost a half expect zero growth or falling sales next year, and the proportion expecting over 10% growth fell from almost 50% last year to 19% now. Almost 250 rental companies and equipment suppliers responded to the survey during October, at the height of the banking crisis.

The annual ‘Rental Confidence Index' has also taken a knock, falling 13% to an all-time low of 63.3 (where 100 means extremely optimistic, 50 means neutral and 0 no confidence). For the past five years it has consistently been at the 70-73 level.

However, there are causes for optimism. Despite the reigning back on spending, a hefty 51% of companies are still planning to expand their fleets next year (a figure that has consistently been 80% or more for the past four years).

Likewise, although 9% of survey rental firms plan to close depots next year, a very respectable 35% are still planning to add rental locations to their networks.

Read the full survey in the November-December issue of IRN.