NAICS 532 - Rental and Leasing Services

Industries in the Rental and Leasing Services subsector include establishments that provide a wide array of tangible goods, such as automobiles, computers, consumer goods, and industrial machinery and equipment, to customers in return for a periodic rental or lease payment.

The subsector includes two main types of establishments: (1) those that are engaged in renting consumer goods and equipment and (2) those that are engaged in leasing machinery and equipment often used for business operations. The first type typically operates from a retail-like or storefront facility and maintains inventories of goods that are rented for short periods of time. The latter type typically does not operate from retail-like locations or maintain inventories, and usually offers longer-term leases. These establishments work directly with clients to enable them to acquire the use of equipment on a lease basis, or they work with equipment vendors or dealers to support the marketing of equipment to their customers under lease arrangements. Equipment lessors generally structure lease contracts to meet the specialized needs of their clients and use their remarketing expertise to find other users for previously leased equipment. Establishments that provide operating and capital (i.e., finance) leases are included in this subsector.

Establishments primarily engaged in leasing in combination with providing loans are classified in Sector 52, Finance and Insurance. Establishments primarily engaged in leasing real property are classified in Subsector 531, Real Estate. Establishments primarily engaged in renting or leasing equipment with operators are classified in various subsectors of NAICS depending on the nature of the services provided (e.g., transportation, construction, agriculture). These activities are excluded from this subsector since the client is paying for the expertise and knowledge of the equipment operator, in addition to the rental of the equipment. In many cases, such as the rental of heavy construction equipment, the operator is essential to operate the equipment. Likewise, since the provision of crop harvesting services includes both the equipment and operator, it is included in Subsector 115, Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry. The rental or leasing of copyrighted works is classified in Sector 51, Information, and the rental or leasing of nonfinancial intangible assets, such as patents, trademarks, and/or licensing agreements, is classified in Subsector 533, Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works).

• Includes establishments renting tangible goods such as vehicles, computers, and industrial equipment.
• Covers both short-term consumer rentals and long-term business equipment leases.
• Excludes leasing combined with loans, real estate leasing, and rentals with operators.
• Focuses on providing tangible goods without operator services.
• Includes both operating and capital lease arrangements.
• Businesses may work directly with clients or through equipment vendors.

• Renting automobiles and other vehicles for short or long durations.
• Leasing industrial machinery and equipment for business use.
• Providing IT hardware and consumer goods on a rental basis.
• Structuring lease contracts to meet specialized client needs.
• Managing remarketing and resale of previously leased equipment.
• Offering operating and capital leasing options.
• Collaborating with equipment vendors to support leasing programs.
• Maintaining inventories for short-term rental operations.

• Consumer goods rental stores
• Industrial equipment lessors
• Vehicle rental agencies
• IT equipment leasing firms
• Construction machinery rental companies
• Specialized machinery leasing providers