United Rentals tops Telehandler30 list

Five years have passed since Access, Lift & Handlers debuted the Telehandler30 list. In those five years, the market peaked, tanked and leveled off. This year, the list reflects modest (in most cases) refleeting across the board.

There is an overall increase of around 27 percent to 38,000 units in the total number of telehandlers represented on the T30, but the vast majority of this growth relates to just two companies - United Rentals and Volvo Rents.

In the case of United, its telehandler fleet has grown by 7,000 units to 15,000, reflecting not just organic growth but also the addition of the RSC fleet, as well as the much smaller acquisition of Canada's Venetor.

While United's 15,000 telehandlers is triple the amount our number two spot retains, its total estimated share of the North American rental market - even after the RSC deal - is still only 12 percent, showcasing the breadth mid-sized and independent rental companies we have here. However, in terms of the largest 30 telehandler fleets, United share is closer to 39 percent.

With Volvo Rents, the 87 percent increase to 5,800 units reflects both increased fleeting at its existing locations and the more than 50 acquisitions it has made over the past 15 months or so. Volvo Rents spent a majority of 2011 acquiring smaller and mid-sized rental companies across Canada and the US; in that year alone they reported purchasing more than 50 companies. And they haven't stopped in 2012. Since 2009, the company's telehandler fleet has increased 86 percent from owning 3,111 teles.

To view the entire Telehandler30 list, see the May/June 2012 issue of Access, Lift & Handlers.