North America’s largest rental companies might be facing the ongoing hurdle of delayed access equipment deliveries, but according to this year’s Aerials20 ranking, nearly every firm listed grew its fleet from 2021 to 2022, with the overall A20 reporting a 9.61% increase for a total of 457,039 units.

Quite possibly the biggest shake-up on the list comes from Herc Rentals, who leapfrogged both Ahern Rentals and H&E Equipment Services to firmly position itself as the third-largest access equipment rental fleet with 38,100 units reported.

The massive 32% increase from Herc aligns with the company’s overall expansion strategy and expected fleet investment of $900 million to $1.2 billion for the year. This momentum “demonstrates the acceleration in growth we are achieving with our investments and fleet and M&A,” Larry Silber, president and CEO of Herc Rentals said recently. “As you can see, we have truly shifted into high gear. We’ve come a long way in the six years since we went public and I’m proud of the tremendous strides that we’ve made.”

Looking at the top five, which represent a total of 392,095 aerials and nearly 86% of the total A20 fleet listing, United remains the top player, reporting a total aerial fleet size of 160,560 units this year. Sunbelt, which has meticulously executed its Sunbelt 3.0 strategy, also stays put as the second-largest access equipment fleet provider, increasing its aerial count from an estimated 120,000 units last year to 140,000 today. Meanwhile, Herc moved into third as both H&E Equipment Services and Ahern Rentals decreased their access fleet totals, with H&E reducing its fleet by -20% and Ahern -3%.