Until recently, most of the national equipment rental companies were touting how young their equipment fleets had become and how each quarter, the average age of their fleets was less than before.

What a difference a tough economy can make. Now, virtually every equipment rental company is re-evaluating policies, looking for ways to gracefully shift the average age upward without jeopardizing equipment reliability and customer service. How to do that is the big question facing everyone in the rental industry.