Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Goodwill) (Details) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 3,260
Goodwill related to acquisitions	214
Foreign currency translation	19
Ending balance	3,493
General rentals
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	2,797
Goodwill related to acquisitions	212
Foreign currency translation	14
Ending balance	3,023
Goodwill accumulated impairment loss	1,557
Trench, power and pump
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	463
Goodwill related to acquisitions	2
Foreign currency translation	5
Ending balance	$ 470

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388280&loc=d3e13770-109266

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77989000&loc=SL49117168-202975

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Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

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Amount of foreign currency translation gain (loss) which increases (decreases) an asset representing future economic benefits from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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Amount of accumulated impairment loss for an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

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