Worldwide third-quarter equipment rental revenues dropped 6.8 percent for Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., to $433.1 million, compared to $464.9 million for last year’s third quarter. For the first nine months of 2008, revenues were flat, dropping from $1,287.8 million in last year’s third quarter to $1,287.4 million in this year’s third quarter.

HERC continued to achieve strong growth in Canada, especially Western Canada, where oil industry-related rental activity remains robust. Also, HERC continues to improve diversification into industrial and fragmented sectors of the U.S. equipment rental market.

Adjusted pre-tax income for the third quarter of 2008 was $81.1 million, a 25.7-percent decrease from the previous year, primarily as a result of decreased volume growth and pricing, partially offset by cost management initiatives.

The average acquisition cost of rental equipment operated during the third quarter of 2008 increased by 0.2 percent year over year to $3.4 billion, compared with a 6.7-percent increase in the third quarter of 2007 compared with the third quarter of 2006.

HERC said it expected net capex for 2008 to be somewhere between $50 million and $100 million, and that the company closed 20 branches during the third quarter.

North American rental revenues generally comprise about 90 percent of HERC’s worldwide equipment rental revenue.

Based in Park Ridge, N.J., HERC is No. 3 on the RER 100.