02.02.2004

United Rentals predicts US$450 million fleet investment in 2004.

United Rentals new CEO Wayland Hicks has stated that the company, which operates the worlds largest powered access fleet with some 55, to 60,000 units, is likely to spend about $450 million on fleet replacements in 2004.

In an interview with the US' RER, Hicks, who took over the top job at Unitied from Bradley Jacobs at the start of the year (see Vertikal.net Oct/7/ 2003), said that 'the company, which expects an improved economic climate in 2004, is likely to spend an additional $50 million to $100 million in growth capex this year, independent of any potential acquisitions.'

United's aerial rental fleet has aged from an average of 36 months during the 99/2000 period, to a 41 to 42-month average age today. The additional expenditure expectded this year will push this back down towards 40 months.

The company is also expected to return to the acquisition trail this year: The company was built on a whirlwind of purchases in the 1990s which saw the new business go from nothing to become the “dominant player” in the US rental market and become the world's largest access rental company in the space of three years. At one point, the firm was announcing several new take-overs on a weekly basis.

In the past two to three years, United has concentrated on consolidating the business and encouraging the movement of equipment from quiet to busy regions, cutting out overlap and refining systems and exploiting synergy benefits.

The comments from United support the general pick-up seen by rental companies in many parts of North America, where the improving economic situation is having a significant knock-on effect for the rental industry and particularly the aerial lift business. This was hit badly by the slowdown in 2000, after several years of rapid expansion by “consolidators” like United.