Builders
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe feast-or-famine pattern of freight car orders has made a sharp turn inthe builders’ favor. The American Railway Car Institute released figuresThursday showing that the manufacturers’ backlog of cars on order andundelivered reached 51,913 on April 1. That compares with 22,658 on Dec. 31,2010; 19,267 on Nov. 1, 2010; and 14,930 on July 1, 2010.
New-car orders climbed to 36,903 in this year’s first quarter vs. 5,078 inthe first quarter of 2010. Deliveries in this year’s first quarter totaled7,648 vs. 2,550 in the year-ago quarter.
Twelve-month year-end comparisons show 29,992 new orders in 2010, 8,336 in2009, 33,235 in 2008, and 53,584 in 2007.
