All Market & forecasts Articles

Access to Poland
Poland is one of the big potential rental markets in Eastern Europe, but is still very much in its infancy with total rental revenues of around €110 million in 2006, according to the European Rental Association (ERA).
Paying your way
How will the credit crisis affect your purchasing decisions? Will it make financing your fleet more difficult?
Clean Power
How long before you can buy hybrid powered aerial platforms or scissor lifts with fuel cells?
Steel costs drive up Volvo's prices
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has announced it is raising the price of its machines and components by +5% to offset the impact of steep rises in base commodities, such as steel.
Japanese Giants Invest In Aerials
Private commercial investment in Japan's major urban centers is fuelling a demand for small scissors and vertical mast platforms, with several of Japan's ‘big four’ rental giants investing heavily in aerials.
Indian Renter Looks For Lifts
Rakesh Modi, who is running the access rental division of Madras Tools & Shackles Ltd (MtandT), hopes to add 50 machines this year.
Access-50 2007: World's biggest access fleets
Heavy investment over the past 12 months has resulted in a not unexpected 20% jump in the size of the world's biggest access fleets. MURRAY POLLOK looks at the results of the latest Access–50 survey.
Japan: growth while mature
Eight of the world's 50–largest access fleets are in Japan. Murray Pollok reports on the growth strategies of their owner companies, all the more interesting because the rental market is mature.
Small but perfectly formed
Mini excavators in the sub 3 t category are enjoying a surging popularity, as rental companies respond to demand from their customers who recognise their benefits-simplicity, versatility and affordability. The last 12 months has seen a flurry of activity in the mini-excavator sector, as Kate Barker reports.
EuroPlatform: the conference for European Access Professionals
The first Europlatform conference for access rental professionals took place in Basel, Switzerland, on 11 September, and was attended by over 100 rental company managers, equipment dealers and manufacturers. The event was jointly organised by IRN's sister magazine, Access International, and the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). Murray Pollok reports.
Nordic highs
The Nordic region, like much of Europe, is enjoying a period of high demand for access platforms. As Patrick Hill reports, the sector is benefiting from the drive to complete jobs quickly and improve worker productivity.
Rental at BICES
Rental in China is still in its infancy, but the recent BICES exhibition in Beijing, China, attended by over 60000 visitors, provided evidence that its profile is rising, with one of China's biggest equipment manufacturers, Liugong, promoting rental on its stand at the show.
Looking good for 2008
It's now a year since RSC Equipment Rental was divested by Atlas Copco Group, and just five months since the company's chief executive officer, Erik Olsson, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the company's public flotation. In other words, the company has undergone some big changes.
Asphalt demand set to rise
US demand for asphalt is forecast to advance +1.7% to more than 38 million tonnes in 2011, according to a new study from The Freedonia Group.
JLG says US sales to soften
Capital investment by US rental companies will be “flat to slightly down, but the overall tone is strong,” said Charles Szews, Oshkosh Truck's president and chief operating officer, speaking during the company's conference call for its quarterly results to September 30.
A tale of two segments
The US construction market has truly been bipolar. The housing market has been in recession for two years, while the nonresidential segment has enjoyed robust growth, says Scott Hazelton of Global Insight.
Richie Bros auctions cross boarders
Bidders from 58 countries participated in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers' three-day auction in Moerdijk, The Netherlands on 27 to 29 February. Its two-day event in Los Angeles on 26 & 27 February attracted bidders from 25 countries.
CPA forecasts UK slowdown
Growth in UK construction output is expected to fall to just over +1% for 2008, down from the +2,6% growth seen in 2007 according to the latest forecasts from the UK Construction Products Association (CPA). The CPA says this low-level of annual growth is expected to remain until 2012.
Australia’s construction activity expands
Australia’s construction industry continued to expand in February, despite a slow down in the rate of growth.
Progress report
Everybody talks about the growth of rental, but what is actually happening on the ground in individual markets? Murray Pollok reports.
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