Three, two, one, lift

Aerial lifts were the most requested pieces of equipment in the second half of 2001 on the Rentmaker Inc. Internet-based rental service. Aerial lifts represented 11.1% of all requests for the top 100 rental items, according to Rentmaker, Waltham, Mass.

The second most requested type of rental equipment was hydraulic excavators, with 8.7% of the requests, up from 8.0% in the first half of the year. Forklifts were the third most requested item (6.9%), followed by dozers (6.7%), backhoes (4.5%), skid-steer loaders (3.5%), wheel loaders (3.1%) and air compressors (3.0%). Vibratory compactors (2.2%) and office trailers (2.1%) broke into the top 10 in the second half of 2001.

Earthmoving and lifting/material handling equipment continued to dominate the top five pieces of equipment demanded on Rentmaker in the second half of 2001, but Jerome Meier, president of the company, pointed out a twist: "Whereas in the first half of 2001, earthmoving took the top two slots out of the top three on the list, in the second half, it is lifting/material handling equipment that take two slots out of the top three on the list. This may be signaling a change relating to seasonality and regional use into the colder months of the year."