Eastern Railroad Discussion > Freight car orders soar in 2014

Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Freight car orders, backlog soar in first quarter—and it’s not tank cars
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief Railway Age Magazine.


Freight car orders in 2014’s first quarter soared about 38% from fourth-quarter 2013, to 24,050 units, pushing builder backlogs up around 12% to 81,927, according to the most recent Railway Supply Institute American Railway Car Institute figures.

In this year’s first quarter, builders delivered 13,954 cars, a 12% drop from fourth-quarter 2013’s 15,776 units, as the industry backlog grew. ARCI figures (see chart, below) indicate a relatively flat backlog prevailed through 2013’s second through fourth quarters.

More:
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/mechanical/freight-cars/freight-car-orders-backlog-soar-in-first-quarter%E2%80%94and-its-not-tank-cars.html

According to the article, covered hoppers are in high demand though there is still a backlog for tank cars. But it also says that coal is fueling some of the demand. More coal hopper cars too for a dying resource demand?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/14 10:34 by wabash2800.

Coal isn't dying. It will be nearly impossible to legislate the coal industry out of existence. Although I freely admit they are trying.

Good news about the rising backlog.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/14 12:45 by NYC6001.

Any news on importing new freight cars from overseas, China or similar?

There had been questions about welding integrity, metal specs, general QA oversight, etc. Curious how that works out since everybody assumes freight cars are built in the American rust belt somewhere.

US exports quite a few freight cars, too. We had a thread late last year about a several hundred car order going to Colombia.

Good for US workers, steel producers, etc