As the equipment rental industry convenes in Orlando, Fla., for the 54th annual The Rental Show this week, the just-released results of the American Rental Association’s (ARA) Fourth Quarter 2009 Economic Survey show a renewed optimism among ARA members for a better 2010.

More than 53 percent of those responding to the ARA’s latest quarterly e-mail survey in January 2010 expect their rental revenues to increase this year. More than 74 percent of these same respondents said their rental revenue in 2009 compared to 2008 had declined, including 14.72 percent who said their revenues were down 30 percent or more.

Those responding to the January survey also expect to be buying more equipment in 2010. Nearly 47 percent said they expected to spend more on new equipment this year while 37.02 percent expect spending on equipment to be flat.

The January 2010 economic survey of ARA members follows two previous e-mail surveys conducted in July and September 2009 asking general and associate members, including independent manufacturer representatives (IMRs), to voluntarily participate in a brief online survey about how the current economy is impacting the equipment rental industry.

General member questions focused on rental revenue and equipment purchasing while the separate associate member survey asked about sales of equipment into the rental channel.

Of particular note in the January survey, more than 58 percent of the associate member respondents forecast greater sales to the rental channel in 2010, a higher percentage than in either the July or September surveys. Nearly 9 percent of the January respondents forecast an increase of 20 percent or more in 2010, while 20.22 percent forecast an increase of 10 to 19 percent and 21.35 percent forecast an increase of 5 to 9 percent.

“Thank you to all ARA members who responded to this survey,” says Christine Wehrman, ARA’s executive vice president and CEO. “You can benchmark your business against these results and there is a great opportunity to validate the survey results yourself on the show floor as you visit with your fellow rental operators and exhibitors at The Rental Show this week.”

The results, while not statistical, reflect a snapshot in time of those who responded and may not be representative of the industry as a whole. ARA expects to continue to conduct similar quarterly e-mail surveys for the foreseeable future with the next survey scheduled for early April.