Rental Service Franchises

The U.S. commercial and industrial equipment industry includes more than 8,000 businesses with combined average revenue of over $42 billion. Major franchises include United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals and Hertz.

The profitability of individual businesses depends on the merchandising mix and cost of financing rental inventory. Major rental product categories are heavy construction equipment (26 percent of revenue); aircraft (11 percent); computers and peripheral equipment (11 percent); medical equipment (8 percent); and railroad cars (8 percent). Other rental product categories include audio/visual and motion picture and theatrical equipment.