New Rail Car Orders Up 50% in 4th Quarter 2021

New rail car orders rose 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 when compared with the same period of 2020, the Railway Supply Institute said.

However, the backlog of rail car orders also rose by 14 percent as deliveries remained relatively flat.

RSI said the increase in orders in the fourth quarter was the largest since the fourth quarter of 2018.

Rail car manufacturers delivered 8,161 rail cars in the fourth quarter compared with 6,216 delivered in the same period in 2020.

The backlog in rail car deliveries now stands at 42,993 rail cars. That includes 102 net cancellations, most of which are boxcars.

Covered hopper cars accounted for 33 percent of the fourth quarter orders.

Tags: new rail car demand, new rail cars, Railway Supply Institute