ERA releases its 2026 Market Report

The European Equipment Rental Association (ERA) has published its 2026 Market Report, forecasting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8% for the European equipment rental market between 2025 and 2027.

However, the overall figure hides significant differences across Europe, with Southern European countries continuing to perform strongly while several of the largest and most established rental markets remain under pressure and affected by weak construction activity, economic uncertainty and limited investment.

Southern Europe is performing particularly well, with Spain, Portugal and Italy benefiting from infrastructure investment, increasing rental penetration and growing demand from sectors such as logistics and data centres.

The situation is different in some of Europe’s largest rental markets. France remains particularly affected by weak construction activity and political uncertainty, with a projected CAGR of -0.7% between 2025 and 2027.

The UK also continues to experience limited growth, while Germany could benefit from increased public investment towards the end of 2026.

Nordic signs of recovery

The Nordic countries are showing signs of recovery after several difficult years, although activity has not yet returned to previous levels.

Looking at the different sectors, civil engineering and infrastructure continue to support rental activity, while residential and non-residential construction remain weak in many countries. Non-construction activities now account for approximately 35% of the European rental market.

The ERA Market report shows that the European equipment rental market experienced growth of 1% in 2025 and that the rental market is expected to reach a rental turnover of €35.5bn in 2026, in the 17 countries covered by the report, with growth reaching 1.6%.

The UK, Germany and France remain the largest rental markets in Europe, now accounting for almost 60% of the total market size.

Leading source of intelligence

Developed in collaboration with KPMG, the ERA Market Report is the only Europe-wide industry benchmark, providing an overview of rental market performance and future developments and useful information for rental companies, manufacturers and other industry stakeholders.

The report covers 17 European countries, accounting for more than 95% of the region’s rental market. (Image: Adobe Stock)

The report uses a common methodology and definition to analyse 17 European rental markets. These countries account for more than 95% of the equipment rental industry in the EU, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the United Kingdom.

The 2026 ERA Market Report is available free of charge for ERA members and to members of ERA’s national member associations. For all other companies, the price is €1,500. The report can be ordered directly from the ERA Secretariat, at [email protected].

For more information or to access the report, visit www.erarental.org or contact [email protected].