Rental Companies are Feeling the Impact of Coronavirus, ARA Survey Finds
The effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) are significantly impacting the equipment and event rental industry, according to a recent survey of the American Rental Association membership.
Rental revenues are declining and are projected to significantly deteriorate in the coming months.
All party and event rental business respondents indicate event cancelations leading to a loss of revenue when compared to 2019. Nearly 55 percent report revenue loss in excess of 60 percent and 15.6 percent of respondents experiencing 46 to 60 percent loss of revenue. Of these cancelations, the majority are corporate, private, festival and charitable events.
The survey results representing construction/industrial and general tool/DIY members indicate a lesser economic impact, albeit concerning. As of March 16, 37 percent have indicated no revenue loss, 32.9 percent experiencing up to 15 percent revenue loss and less than 3 percent reporting loss of more than 60 percent of rental revenue.
“This is a dire time for our industry,” said Tony Conant, ARA CEO. “We’re putting the needs of our members in the rental community first. ARA and ARA Insurance have put initiatives in place to ease the financial stress on our members as it relates to membership dues and insurance premiums. Our goal is to continue assisting our members and keep them informed on resources that are available to help them manage through these unprecedented times.”
Some rental operations have temporarily closed, but those that remain open indicate that they are taking every precaution to protect employees and customers by implementing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and extra cleaning and sanitizing of equipment. Many rental operations remain open in order to provide necessary equipment and services for customers that continue work as well as providing tents, tables, chairs and other items needed for drive-through and pickup areas for restaurants, grocery stores, government agencies and more.
ARA said it will deploy member surveys weekly in an effort to continually monitor the impact the virus, legislation, regulations and social distancing are having on the rental industry. All industry employees are encouraged to join the ARA Coronavirus Discussion Group on Facebook to engage in discussion and understand how others are coping during this time. More information on coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found at ARArental.org.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.