Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question or comment is from the line of Alex Blanton with Ingalls & Snyder. Your line is open.
Alex Blanton - Ingalls & Snyder
Just a question on your rental CapEx for this year and next year, which is down 33%, by the way, for the nine months, according to the cash flow statement. This is the gross, not the net. You gave the net figures earlier, but we haven't talked, and I don't think about the gross rental CapEx for this year or next year. What's forecast?
Michael Kneeland
I'm going to ask [Chris Brown] to answer that question. He's our Assistant Controller.
Chris Brown
Hi. How are you? In terms of 2009, I think Michael mentioned directionally it would be down, but we wait until the first quarter to give additional guidance. In terms of 2008, our full-year outlook for rental CapEx is $630 million, which contemplates no growth capital, and that will be down from the $770 million of gross rental CapEx last year.
Alex Blanton - Ingalls & Snyder
Okay. So that's only $40 million then in the quarter because you did 590 through the nine months?
Chris Brown
That's correct. We do substantially all of our CapEx purchases by the second quarter to get them ready for the traditionally busy third quarter.
Alex Blanton - Ingalls & Snyder
Well, now you forecast a decline in the net for next year, so you must have a forecast of the gross rental CapEx. You're just not sharing them with us? I mean, you said $100 million would be the net figure for 2009. So you don't want to share the gross figure with us?
Chris Brown
I think as Michael mentioned right now we're going through the planning process. I think the message we were trying to deliver is that from a net perspective, our net rental CapEx will be down significantly from a level in 2007 of $550 million to an '08 level of about $350 million.
Alex Blanton - Ingalls & Snyder
For next year, you said $100 million.
Chris Brown
The net figure, that's correct.
Alex Blanton - Ingalls & Snyder
So that's a decline of 250. Can we look for a similar 250 decline in the gross, or are the sales of rental equipment going to change?
Michael Kneeland
This is Mike, Alex. Basically the message is we're going be defleeting next year, and we're going to be taking, one of the levers that we've always talked about is our capital spending, and we will be aging our fleet out, as we go into what we believe. And all industry resources are telling us that next year will be a much softer year. So are going to be defleeting. It's too early to tell. We do plan to give guidance in early 2009.
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