Alternatives to Buying Equipment When Material Prices Are High

With steel prices rising and a shortage of material, pricing on equipment such as tanks and pumps is also rising. If you’re struggling to stay within your budget for equipment expenses, there are alternatives to purchasing. Renting and buying used equipment are both ways to get what you need when you need it without breaking the bank.

Steel Prices Continue to Rise

The cost of steel is up 215% since March 2020, and aluminum benchmark prices are up 30% since the beginning of 2021. High prices for steel and aluminum are forecast to continue for several months as the industry deals with high demand and short supply.

Many metal manufacturing plants shut down during the early part of the pandemic, anticipating an economic slowdown that would greatly affect the industry. Instead, homeowners stuck at home created an increased demand for steel products like grills and refrigerators. The industry hasn’t been able to catch up since.

What impact has this had on construction and infrastructure projects? Since steel is in short supply and demand is high, the industry is experiencing higher prices and longer lead times. This includes not only raw materials, but equipment like steel tanks, pumps, and other water equipment. Delays are slowing down projects and raising costs. Some companies are anticipating lower profits due to the rising cost of equipment.

Equipment Alternatives

In an attempt to save money and reduce delays due to shortages, contractors can look to alternatives to buying equipment, like renting and buying used equipment. Both of these are less expensive than purchasing new and may prevent delays caused by waiting for steel products.

Equipment Rental

When you purchase a piece of equipment, it’s yours forever. Costs continue to accumulate, whether it’s in use or not. And you have to pay for storage and maintenance, two costs that are eliminated when renting.

When purchasing there is the cost of the initial equipment purchase and ongoing expenses that are incurred over time. These costs may include taxes, loan interest, licensing fees, and storage costs. You may be able to depreciate some of these costs over time, but you also have to pay for maintenance and replacement costs.

When renting, with as little as one day’s notice, you can have equipment on-site and available for short- or long-term service, such as a day, week, or month. The equipment is delivered to the site and some rental companies install it and get it ready for operation. During the rental period, the rental company takes care of maintenance and repairs, some can even provide training for operators if needed. Once the equipment or tool isn’t needed anymore, it gets picked up and removed from the site by the rental company.

When you rent, you only pay for the equipment when you need it, as opposed to buying it and then storing it until a project comes up. Rental agreements can be short-term or long-term, depending on your needs. And there’s little to no maintenance cost, as most of the maintenance is done by the rental company.

When you rent from a company with engineering experience, you’ll get the right-sized equipment for the job, so you aren’t paying for the capacity you don’t need. Rain for Rent’s engineers ensure that piping, pumps, tank systems, and filtration equipment are properly sized for the anticipated capacity of the system, saving you money. Rain for Rent has the experience and knowledge to help you select the right equipment for the job.

Buying used equipment

Another alternative is to buy used equipment from a rental dealer. You’ll want to purchase a piece of equipment when it’s unique to your industry, gets used often, and is difficult to find when needed. Buying it ensures that you always have the equipment you need on hand.

Buying used equipment can save you up to 50% off the price of new equipment, which is a significant saving. And you can be sure that the equipment has been properly serviced and maintained by the rental company, which means it will have a long and useful life. Once you’re finished with the project, the equipment can then be sold or reused on another project, continuing to save you money.

Why Rain for Rent

Rain for Rent has the engineering expertise you need to help you choose the right equipment at the right time. Our trained staff ensure that you aren’t renting more than you need and that the system is properly sized for the capacity of the project.

Our high service standards also ensure that you will get dependable equipment from Rain for Rent. We ensure regular maintenance on all our products, so you know they will be in top performance when you need them.

Contact Rain for Rent to help identify the equipment you need, or to design a system for your next project. Our experienced engineers are ready to help you choose the equipment you need that’s just right for your system. Leave the engineering to us and we’ll save you time and money.