Robert W. Baird & Co. and TRSA recently distributed the results of the March 2022 (First-Quarter 2022) Uniform & Linen Rental Survey. Survey respondents on both the uniform and linen rental side of the industry expressed optimism at their growth prospects over the next 12 months.
Thirty-four percent of respondents beat their own revenue expectations for the quarter with just 13% falling short. The 22% spread narrowed; however, with most respondents seeing trends in-line (53%).
New business interest is holding stable, and is still positive. The no-programmer diffusion index moderated to 51.5 (from 52.5) but is still in expansionary territory.
Regarding growth outlook, industry consensus continues to see roughly 4.8% organic growth over the next 12 months, unchanged from last quarter’s average. Comparisons versus COVID are now more normalized, suggesting good underlying improvement.
