The market for freight railcars is showing signs of improvement but data for railcar orders, deliveries and backlogs still reflects current market softness.
Railcar orders rose by 80% to 6,227 railcars in the first quarter of 2021 from the fourth quarter of 2020, although orders are still below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Railway Supply Institute (RSI).
In comparison to Q1 orders, the quarterly average for 2019 was about 9,300 railcars, RSI said. RSI’s American Railcar Institute...