Car rental prices jump by 51 per cent on 2009

A new study has found that while most travel-related costs dropped in 2009, the price of car rental soared by over a half.

Car rental industry consultants Abrams, found that the average weekly price for a small car at an airport in the US jumped by 51 per cent from 2008 levels, to $335.05 in 2009.

President of Abrams Consulting Group, Neil Abrams, said that rates will continue to be on the rise this year, as many rental firms have significantly reduced their fleets, giving them leverage to increase prices.

The report revealed that the fleet of some rental firms fell by 25 per cent on average across the industry in 2009, and they were down by about 50 per cent compared with several years ago.

As fleets have shrunk over the past two years, demand in 2009 fell by about 20 per cent across the industry, according to the survey.  As a result, car hire companies were able to increase prices.

Rental car firms are expected to gradually increase fleet sizes as demand increases over the year.