Utilization is the primary method by which tool rental companies measure asset performance.
[1] Rental utilization is divided into a number of different calculations, and not all companies work precisely the same way.
In general terms however there are two key calculations: the physical utilization on the asset, which is measured based on the number of available days for rental against the number of days actually rented.
(This may also be measured in hours for certain types of equipment), and the financial utilization on the asset (referred to in North America as $ Utilization) which is measured as the rental revenue achieved over a period of time against the potential revenue that could have been achieved based on a target or standard, non-discounted rate.
[3] Low physical utilization may be mitigated by keeping rental rates high, high physical utilization normally justifies keeping rental rates lower.