railcars in storage

Why is the number of railcars in storage important?

A photograph of railcars parked in a rail yard.

Rail equipment manufacturers, suppliers and industry observers will talk about the number of railcars in storage being up or down. But why is that figure important?

Knowing how many railcars are in storage is significant because that figure helps observers understand network capacity in relation to the broader economy. Industry participants also look at the number of railcars in storage by railcar type to gauge expectations for where railcar lease rates are heading and the volume of orders that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-is-the-number-of-railcars-in-storage-important

FreightWaves Classics: TTX owns 10+% of all North American railcars

TTX railcars are part of this train. (Photo: TTX Company)

The North American railroad industry is about 190 years old. According to the railroad industry, there were over 1,620,000 railcars in North America at the beginning of 2020.

However, earlier this year it was estimated that as many as 24% of North America’s  railcars were “parked” or in storage of one kind or another. That percentage has no doubt fluctuated throughout a year that has been heavily impacted by the global pandemic and economic dislocations.

Of the 1.62 million railcars in North...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-classics-ttx-owns-10-of-all-north-american-railcars

Rail stakeholders consider pressing for tax subsidies to scrap railcars

A photograph of two tank cars in a rail yard.

Industry stakeholders are considering options to relieve the railcar supply glut amid the continued downward trend in U.S. carload volumes.

Those options include discussions on whether to push for federal tax incentives that would allow companies to receive tax subsidies for scrapping older and idled railcars, according to a July 29 research note from investment firm Cowen.

“A resuscitation of a long-futile push for railcar scrappage tax subsidies may be underway. While the effort is in its...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/rail-stakeholders-consider-pressing-for-tax-subsidies-to-scrap-railcars

Intermodal volumes prop up US rail traffic

A photograph of a train at a railroad crossing.

A 7.7% increase in weekly intermodal traffic gave U.S. rail traffic its smallest year-over-year decline in months.

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July Fourth totaled 437,989 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.4% drop from the same period in 2019, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Of that total, U.S. carloads were 12.7% lower, at 192,767, while U.S. intermodal units were up 7.7%, to 245,222 containers and trailers.

But on a sequential basis, weekly traffic was lower...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/intermodal-volumes-prop-up-us-rail-traffic

Commentary: What are best practices for private railcar storage?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.  

Here are things the regulators don’t tell you about marshaling and storing freight cars.

Such as how to detect rail head wear. Most railroad executives would not know how to do this

Jim Blaze rail accident investigation PowerPoint notes  1999-2015

This commentary will include a few pointers that your favorite Class 1 railroad salesperson won’t typically pass on as...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-what-are-best-practices-for-private-railcar-storage

Railcars in storage spike in May

Railcars at a yard

After hovering around the 400,000-unit mark all year, railcars in storage spiked 25% in May to 520,729. This was the one of many takeaways from the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) June report.

As of June 1, 31.2% of the 1.67 million North American freight car fleet were in storage. The AAR considers a car in storage if it hasn’t hauled a load in the past 60 days and has moved empty since carrying its last load.

A soft industrial economy, exacerbated by COVID-19-related manufacturing...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/railcars-in-storage-spike-in-may

Join Our Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a weekly round-up of shipping news.
icon
By subscribing, you agree with our privacy policy and our terms of service.