The global construction equipment rental market was valued over $34 billion in 2015 and is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period owing to the expansion of the construction industry in Mexico, India, UAE and Malaysia.

Construction equipment is offered to construction companies on rent by manufacturers or third-party suppliers, usually on the basis of duration needed. The growing construction activities in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors coupled with the government focus on infrastructure development are anticipated to drive demand over the next eight years.

Increasing operational and financial advantages related to the product are expected to lead to an overall increase in the global demand for this service. Many large-scale projects namely power and energy, oil and gas, and transportation projects require large investments and a wide range of specialized machinery, which have led many construction companies to rent equipment in order to reduce costs. Advanced features including the availability of data regarding fuel consumption, along with the expected life of critical components will fuel demand in the near future. Growing need to replace outdated or obsolete machinery will drive the need for construction equipment rentals.

Rapid technological changes along with increasing demand for advanced and more efficient equipment from construction companies is expected to be a key driving factor for this market. Responding to industry needs, rental companies are likely to offer the latest machinery with advanced technology that follows updated EPA emissions guidelines. Technological advancements that allow mobile-based applications to track fuel consumption and send problem logs via text messages to the closest service stations are expected to drive the demand for rental services in the near future.

Demand will likely be augmented by the introduction of energy-efficient engines, remote access devices, automatic controls for maneuvering machines, life air-conditioning cabins for the machine operator and availability of data regarding the life expectancy of critical components. The increasing adoption of the internet of things concept, which allows collection and transfer of data from physical objects will also boost demand as it will lead to automation and diminish costs. The advent of fleet management software is also expected to provide opportunities for market growth as it makes maintenance of equipment quite effortless by providing information related to wear outs, accidents, and maintenance forecasting.

The lack of services provided by the rental companies to contractors, especially when the project is in a remote area is expected to pose a major challenge to this industry over the forecast period. Fluctuating fuel prices and other overheads associated with picking up and delivering of machinery will hamper industry expansion in the near future.

On the basis of product, the market is segmented into material handling, earthmoving and concrete and road construction machinery. Material handling equipment is expected to be the largest segment in the near future because of the increasing focus on automation of production processes for cost reduction and optimal usage of fuel and raw materials.

In addition, the introduction of new technologies in these machines, which offer access to cloud computing, data analytics and internet of things are anticipated to supplement the demand.

Earthmoving rental machinery is likely to show fast growth at and estimated CAGR of over 10.0% from 2016 to 2024 owing to the growing preference of contractors to obtain general-purpose machines such as dozers, cranes and excavators on rent.

European countries, especially Germany, France, Spain and Poland are expected to account for the largest market share over the forecast period as a result of the resurgent construction industry.

Asia Pacific accounted for over 25% of the global share in 2015 and is likely to witness substantial growth over the forecast period owing to rapid urbanization, government spending on infrastructure development and booming construction, transportation, mining, power and agriculture industries. In addition, the increasing emphasis on constructing sustainable and eco-friendly buildings and repairing old ones with better facilities is expected to drive growth in this region.

The industry is capital-intensive as companies acquire and maintain fleets of various types of machinery to run the business. Industry participants include various third-party suppliers as well as equipment manufacturers. Several contractors prefer to rent equipment from manufacturers as they provide better services related to repair and maintenance as compared to third-party players.