Rental & Leasing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry rent and lease a wide range of physical assets, including cars and trucks, consumer goods, and commercial and industrial machinery and equipment, as well as nonfinancial intangible assets. Major companies include Aaron's, Avis Budget Group, Hertz Global Holdings, U-Haul, and United Rentals (all based in the US) along with AerCap (the Netherlands), Ashtead Group (UK), LeasePlan (the Netherlands), Sixt (Germany), and Tokyo Century Leasing (Japan).

The global leasing market is forecast to reach about $2.4 trillion by 2026 at more than 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to the Business Research Company. Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe account for majority of the world leasing volume, according to the World Leasing Volume.

The US industry includes about 57,000 establishments (single-location companies or units of multi-location companies) that rent and lease physical assets; combined annual revenue for those establishments is about $158 billion. About 2,800 US establishments with combined annual revenue of about $47 billion lease nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyrighted works).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by personal income and industrial activity. The profitability of individual companies depends on maintaining the right merchandise mix and controlling inventory financing costs. Large companies have economies of scale in purchasing, distribution, and advertising. Small companies compete effectively by providing superior customer service, alternative products, and catering to local demographics.

The US industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies that rent ...