The American Rental Association (ARA) has released some of the key findings of the 2008 State of the Equipment Rental Industry report, the latest complete overview of the $38.3-billion North American rental industry produced by IHS Global Insight for the ARA.

"For the 2008 year, our industry experienced some setbacks, but the revenue impact that the equipment rental industry has on the economy remains significant," said Christine Wehrman, ARA's executive vice president and CEO, who announced some of the report's key findings during the March 3 keynote session at The Rental Show in Atlanta.

According to the 2008 report, the total size of the North American rental market was US$38.3 billion in 2008, including US$35.3 billion in the United States and US$3.0 billion in Canada.

Also according to the 2008 report, the construction and industrial equipment rental segment remained the largest in the United States in 2008, with rental revenue of $24.5 billion or 69.4 percent of the total U.S. rental market. General tool rental revenue was $8.4 billion, or a 23.8 percent share of the U.S. rental market, while party and event accounted for $2.4 billion or a 6.8 percent share.

For Canada, construction and industrial equipment remained the largest equipment rental revenue segment in 2008, accounting for US$2.2 billion or 73 percent of the market. General tool rental revenue for Canada was US$636 million or 21.4 percent of the market share, while party and event equipment rental accounted for US$167 million in revenue or 5.6 percent of the Canadian rental market for 2008.