$1,800,000,000,000
Value of the global entertainment industry that Hertz Global Holdings, Park Ridge, N.J., hopes to further tap into following the company’s December acquisition of 24/7 Studio Equipment Co., Burbank, Calif. 24/7 rents equipment for making movies and television shows and will become part of Hertz Entertainment Services, which rents cars, specialized trucks and other equipment to the film industry.

308,745,538
The resident population of the United States on April 1, 2010, according to the 2010 Census, an increase of 9.7 percent over the 2000 U.S. resident population of 281,421,906.

200,000
Consecutive hours worked without a recordable accident according to OSHA at Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg. (TIEM), which manufacturers lift trucks for Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. (TMHU), Irvine, Calif. The 200,000 hours represent 1,000 work days.

6,000
Number of qualified instructors who have graduated from the Train-the-Trainer course of JLG Industries, McConnellsburg, Pa., an Oshkosh Corp. company, to qualify to teach aerial work platform and telehandler operators how to work the equipment properly.

39
Number of venues in eight different locations that Aggreko will provide temporary power as the exclusive supplier of temporary energy services for London 2012 Olympic Games. Generators will be located at each venue and distributed through more than 621 miles of cable and 3,500 distribution panels.

10
Number of branch operations for National Trench Safety (NTS), Houston, in the United States after recently opening a new location in Salt Lake City. The company specializes in the rental and sales of trench and traffic safety equipment as well as OSHA-compliant training classes.

INSIGHTFUL RESEARCH

“Insightful Research” highlights a recently released key economic indicator that could impact the equipment rental industry as noted by economic forecasting firm IHS Global Insight, Lexington, Mass., the company that compiles data for ARA’s Rental Market Monitor, a subscription-only service provided by the American Rental Association (ARA) and Rental Management for ARA members only.

103,000
Number of jobs created in the U.S. economy in December.

“December’s official employment report was a mixed bag. While the number of jobs created was below expectations, October and November numbers were revised upward by a combined 70,000. The reduction in the unemployment rate from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent was not truly suggestive of the employment result — about half of the drop reflected more jobs, but the other half reflected a smaller labor force as some individuals have given up on their employment search, at least for the near term,” says Scott Hazelton, IHS Global Insight’s senior partner.

“If one sets aside expectations, the fact is that the report shows a continuing, gradual improvement in the labor market consistent with moderately better economic growth, but not any dramatic acceleration in its trajectory. The detail in these reports is often more instructive than the total result. December’s job gains were concentrated in private services, notably leisure/hospitality and health care. Net government jobs fell. While the federal level continued to expand, adding 10,000 jobs, state and local cutbacks continued with 20,000 jobs lost in the local government sector,” Hazelton says.

“Not coincidentally, construction lost 16,000 jobs. These were mostly in heavy and civil engineering, and reflect the same state and local budget constraints that are affecting local government employment. Residential and nonresidential construction figures were lower, but only by 2,000 and 1,000 respectively. The worst is over for residential construction and the bottom is in sight for nonresidential. However, massive state and local budget deficits do not suggest any near term improvement in infrastructure construction. On the industrial rental side, manufacturing added 10,000 jobs, the first positive month since July 2010. The gains were all in durable goods — notably fabricated metals, electrical equipment and transportation equipment — as capital expenditure investments remain strong,” he says.

“Good news for the party and event space appeared to come from the job gains in leisure and hospitality — up 47,000, nearly half of the total job gains. This suggests some easing in discretionary budgets for travel and eating out for consumers and businesses,” he says.

“The expectation from IHS Global Insight is for gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.2 percent in 2011, up from 2.9 percent in 2010. That should be sufficient to pull job creation above 200,000 by mid-2011 and eventually bring the unemployment rate down further. While the unemployment rate fell sharply this month, the economy will need to create jobs in 2011 not just to accommodate new additions to the labor force, but also for those who return to the labor force once they see more jobs available. The unemployment rate is likely to get worse again in the near future before it gets better, so look for it to end the year 2011 at around 9.0 percent,” he says.