The American Rental Association (ARA), Moline, Ill., has released a new five-year forecast for equipment rental industry revenues that shows a moderate strengthening compared to the November forecast. ARA now projects U.S. equipment rental revenue will reach $48.9 billion in 2017. It estimates that the industry will grow at an average annual rate of 4.3 percent over the previous forecast to top $56 billion in 2020. Both residential and nonresidential construction and consumer spending are driving growth. Construction and industrial equipment rental revenue is forecast to grow by 3.7 percent in 2017, 4.2 percent in 2018, five percent in 2019 and 4.2 percent in 2020. Revenues for the general tool segment are expected to grow even faster due to the continued improvement in the U.S. housing market.