A working brief on equipment rental suppliers

What to take away

This article covers business systems only. It does not cover these topics:

Requirements depend on many things. They include the jurisdiction, machine, attachment, and customer. They also include the operator, site, vehicle, and agreement. Confirm current duties with manufacturers, the responsible authority, and qualified professionals.

The four buying jobs, and who fills them

A rental yard buys in four distinct modes. A supplier strong in one is usually weak in another. Auction houses move whole machines. Dealer parts counters keep machines earning. Distributors keep consumables on the shelf. Telematics vendors sell the data that tells you which machines to keep. Rank a supplier inside its own category, never across categories.

Buying and selling used iron

Ritchie Bros. runs unreserved public auctions, live and online, across North America and beyond. Buyer premium is published in each sale's terms; on many lots it lands between roughly 10% and 15% of the hammer price.

You inspect before the hammer and own it after, with no return path. Suits yards that can send a mechanic to inspect and can absorb a machine that needs work.

IronPlanet, now part of Ritchie Bros., sells through timed online auctions with its own inspection reports and a buyer protection program on eligible items. Buyer premium typically runs around 10% to 12%. Suits buyers who cannot travel to every sale and want a documented condition report before bidding.

MachineryTrader is a listing marketplace, not a seller. Dealers and owners post inventory; you deal with the poster. The site lists hundreds of thousands of machines across construction, farm and truck categories. Suits yards hunting a specific model where the local dealer has nothing, and yards that want to see asking prices across a region before they negotiate.

Equipment Trader is also a listing marketplace. Dealers and owners post construction, farm and industrial equipment; you negotiate with the poster. Suits the same search for a specific model or a regional price check.

Caterpillar dealers sell new and used machines, run their own rental fleets, and hold the parts and service network behind them. Caterpillar's dealer network has about 160 dealers with more than 1,500 locations worldwide. Pricing is list price plus negotiated discount, not auction. Suits yards that need a machine to work tomorrow and a dealer within driving distance.

John Deere dealers sell new and used machines, run rental fleets, and hold parts and service. John Deere has roughly 1,800 dealer locations in the US and Canada. Same list-plus-discount model. Suits yards that need a machine to work tomorrow and a dealer within driving distance.

United Rentals sells ex-fleet used equipment through its used equipment sales channel, with inspection reports and online listings. United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in North America, with more than 1,400 locations. Suits yards that want a late-model machine with a service history.

Parts, service and consumables

TVH distributes aftermarket and OEM parts for lift trucks, aerial work platforms and light equipment. Its catalog reaches older machines dealers have stopped stocking. TVH lists more than 1 million part references and ships from warehouses in the US, Canada and Europe. Suits yards running mixed-age fleets.

FleetPride and NAPA Heavy Duty are parts distributors with branch networks, same-day or next-day availability on common items, and delivery routes. FleetPride operates more than 300 locations across the US.

NAPA has about 6,000 stores in the US, many carrying heavy duty parts. Suits yards that measure downtime in dollars per machine per day and cannot wait on a factory order.

Grainger carries fasteners, PPE, shop supplies and MRO stock. It operates more than 500 branches in the US and Canada and publishes contract pricing in its catalog. Suits yards with enough volume to justify a stocked crib.

Fastenal carries fasteners, PPE, shop supplies and MRO stock. Fastenal runs on-site vending and bin-stock programs, which shifts consumable purchasing from purchase orders to a replenishment schedule. It has more than 3,000 branch locations worldwide. Suits yards with enough volume to justify a stocked crib.

Michelin supplies tires for the machines and the delivery trucks, through dealers and its own service network. Michelin's Earthmover and X Works lines cover construction and rental fleets. It offers fleet service programs through authorized dealers. Suits yards where tire failure is a roadside event, not a shop task.

Telematics and fleet data

Samsara sells GPS and telematics hardware with subscription software for utilization, hours, fault codes and location. Pricing is per vehicle per month, typically quoted in the range of $27 to $40 per vehicle per month on a multi-year contract, with hardware up front or bundled.

Suits yards that want utilization by machine rather than by gut feel, and yards running delivery trucks that need hours-of-service records.

Geotab sells GPS and telematics hardware with subscription software. Geotab GO devices plug into the OBD-II port or a telematics gateway. Service plans typically range from $15 to $30 per vehicle per month, with hardware around $100 to $200 per device. Suits yards that want utilization by machine and hours-of-service records.

For the sourcing side of the same decision, the equipment rental inventory and sourcing guide covers how to set reorder points against utilization. Before you sign anything, the rental business plan is where the supplier list, the capital budget and the cash cycle have to agree.

How to score a supplier before you commit

Score each candidate on the same five lines, and write the score down:

A supplier that wins on price and loses on fill rate costs more than it saves. Downtime is the number that decides.

Records, road rules and yard safety

Keep purchase records that show income, expenses and the assets behind them. The Internal Revenue Service recordkeeping guidance sets out what a supporting document has to show. Your accountant applies it to your books.

Machines moving on your trucks fall under cargo securement rules. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration cargo securement rules cover performance duties and specific provisions, including roll-on, roll-off and hook-lift containers. Applicability depends on the vehicle and the operation, so check before you dispatch.

Inside the yard, powered industrial trucks carry their own hazards. OSHA's powered industrial truck page describes operator competence, inspection and pedestrian risks. In Canada, CCOHS and the provincial OHS authority set the equivalent duties, and certified training is the operator's route to compliance.

Common questions

Why rank suppliers by category instead of one list?

An auction house and a fastener distributor are not substitutes. Ranking them together tells you nothing about which call to make on a Tuesday morning. Score each inside its category, then keep at least two per category.

What does an auction purchase actually cost?

The hammer price plus buyer premium, plus freight, plus whatever the inspection missed. Model it as hammer price times (1 + premium rate) + freight + repair estimate. Buyer premium is published in each sale's terms, typically around 10% to 15% of the hammer price.

How do I check a telematics vendor's claims?

Ask for utilization data from a fleet your size, in your province or state, and run the hardware on five machines for one billing cycle. Compare reported hours against your own dispatch records. If the two disagree, the subscription is not worth renewing.

When should I drop a supplier?

When fill rate falls below the level you set, or when lead time stretches past the point where a machine sits idle. Put the threshold in writing with the supplier and review it at your monthly KPI meeting.