UK Construction Equipment Rental Market - Strategic Assessment & Forecast 2023-2029

The UK construction equipment rental market is expected to reach USD 5.57 billion by 2029 from USD 3.82 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 5.54%. Incorporating digital transformation in rental companies in the UK is expected to support the industry's growth in 2023. The technologies such as IOT & AI helps in better fleet management & helps to detect fault in machinery in less time, reducing machine downtime. Further, the surge in the UK government's investment in the infrastructure development project, including investment in affordable housing schemes & transit facilities, is expected to drive the UK construction equipment rental market. The government's focus on increasing renewable energy capacity by 2030 is expected to drive demand for material-handling equipment.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The material handling segment accounted for nearly 50% share of the UK construction equipment rental market overall. Aerial platforms accounted for the largest market share of material handling rental equipment. The growing logistics & warehouse industry, due to investment in warehouse expansion projects, supports renting of material handling equipment.
• In 2021, the government introduced the National Infrastructure Plan to overcome the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a rise in investment in roadways, and railway infrastructure under the National Road Construction and National Railway's programs, respectively. In 2022, the government also invested in modernizing the railway infrastructure.
• The affordable housing scheme and investment in transport infrastructure such as roadways and new railway lines are expected to support demand for construction equipment renting in the UK. Warehouse expansion projects and growth in the logistics market due to consumer focus on online shopping post-pandemic are expected to drive demand for forklifts & telehandlers in the UK construction equipment rental market.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Increasing Investment In The Housing Sector
In 2021, the government introduced an affordable housing delivery plan for 2022-2025 in Bristol City. The project aims to build 1,000 new affordable housing units in 2024. This project is an updated version of the previous housing delivery plan for 2017-2020. In addition, the government planned to invest USD 4.8 billion over five years in affordable homes in London in 2021-2026. The country’s housing sector is expected to witness growth in 2023. According to Savills report, housing prices in the UK are expected to fall by 10% in 2023, supporting housing demand across the country in 2023. Major housing projects such as building modular homes in Manchester, a regeneration project in Northern London Council, & building of Notting Hill Genesis housing association are underway in 2023.

Investment in Housing & Infrastructure Development Projects
The UK Construction equipment rental market is expected to grow robustly during the forecast period (2023-2029). The government investment in housing, public infrastructure, and transport facilities will grow in 2023. In 2020, UK Government planned to build 300,000 new homes annually under the affordable housing scheme. However, the government missed its yearly housing target, and only 216,000 housing units were constructed between 2020 and 2021. The housing projects in the country is affected by rising labor and building material cost, which pushes overall construction cost.

In 2022, the UK government boosted the investment in transport infrastructure in the country's Cornwall, Greater Manchester, Newcastle, and Southampton regions to enhance the economic recovery post-pandemic. The rental of construction equipment provides the benefit of avoiding the high capital cost, costly maintenance of construction equipment & availability of new technology-equipped construction equipment.

Investment In National Healthcare Plan Prompts Hospital Constructions
The government has also developed a national healthcare plan to construct and upgrade new hospitals, projected to support the UK construction equipment rental market. The government is expected to invest USD 4.3 billion in constructing 40 hospitals by 2030. Moreover, the government is implementing new guidelines that will help standardize the design of new hospitals and use modular construction methods to accelerate the building program. The government also announced USD 1 billion to upgrade its facilities in the 20 existing hospitals. In 2021, the UK government introduced the Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP), a five-year program for investment in health infrastructure, including capital to build new hospitals. In 2022, the administration planned to invest more than USD 2 billion in healthcare in the next four years.

Government Building Decarbonization Investment Prompts Renting of Electric & Hybrid Equipment
The UK government introduced new building regulations to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and homes to achieve zero-carbon emissions by 2050. Under new regulations, CO2 emissions from new homes must be around 30% lower than current standards, and emissions from other buildings, including offices and shops, must be reduced by 27%. The government focuses on installing low-carbon technology, such as solar panels and heat pumps, on reducing building carbon emissions. In 2021, the government invested USD 6.6 billion to install low-carbon technology under the Social Housing Decarbonization Fund.

INDUSTRY RESTRAINTS

Labor Shortage & Rising Building Material Prices Can Hamper Construction Market
In 2022, the UK construction market faced severe labor shortages and rising building material prices, such as iron, steel, timber, and glass. In 2020, the labor shortage in the industry witnessed major issues post-Brexit. In 2021, several infrastructure projects were planned by the UK government for economic recovery post-pandemic, which are expected to be hindered due to a shortage of construction labor and rising material prices. Changes in immigration laws following Brexit in 2020 restricted labor migration from other European countries to the UK. Other factors limiting the construction industry's growth include raw material supply chain disruption and rising inflation, low labor availability due to an aging population, and a weak economy in the UK. Such factors are anticipated to hamper the growth of the UK construction equipment rental market during the forecast period.

Rising Fuel Prices Impact Large Equipment Renting
In 2022, UK fossil fuel prices sharply grew after OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) reduced oil production by 2 million barrels daily. Moreover, a reduction in oil supply in European countries after Russia's invasion of Ukraine resulted in a surge in petrol & diesel prices in European countries, including the UK. According to government data, Fuel prices in the UK went up more than 27% in 2022.

VENDOR LANDSCAPE

• JCB, Caterpillar, Volvo Construction Equipment, Komatsu, Manitou, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Kubota, & Kobelco are prominent UK construction equipment rental market vendors.
• Other prominent vendors are Liebherr, Hyundai Construction Equipment, Yanmar, & Liu Gong.
• JCB, Kubota, Caterpillar & Volvo are the market leaders in the UK construction equipment rental market and have a strong distribution network & provide a wide variety of products. Moreover, JCB has the strongest market share, and Kubota is a leader in mini excavators in the region.
• Hitachi Construction Machinery, Komatsu & Manitou are emerging strong in the market. These companies are introducing innovative products to capture the UK construction equipment rental market share. For instance, in 2022, Hitachi launched Z-axis excavators equipped with Stage V emission technology for the UK market. Manitou group also launched ultra-compact rough terrain telehandlers in the European market to capture customers from the construction & agriculture industries.
• Caterpillar, a leading player in the market, introduced battery-powered mining trucks to promote climate sustainability in August 2021.