Freight car market: Strength in numbers
Mostly solid quarterly financial results and a spate of new orders for freight car builders show a market that’s stable and growing.
Mostly solid quarterly financial results and a spate of new orders for freight car builders show a market that’s stable and growing.
The Andersons Inc. on Aug. 1 signed a $2.2 million agreement to purchase FreightCar America Inc.’s Danville Railcar Facility, Danville, Ill. The company intends to turn the now-shuttered freight car manufacturing plant into a full-service freight and tank railcar repair shop.
FreightCar America, Inc. has agreed to acquire Navistar’s railcar operations in Cherokee, Ala.
Kristen Wright has joined FreightCar America as Director of Sales, with responsiblity for supporting the company’s sales team in marketing and selling FreightCar America’s diverse railcar product line. She is based in FreightCar America’s Chicago offices.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) received delivery of 20 new remote-control steel ballast cars in mid April.
Due to a downturn in new railcar business, FreightCar America will shut down production at its Roanoke, Va. facility in June.
Reporting on Rail Equipment Finance 2017, Cowen and Company analyst Matt Elkott notes, “Sentiment is better than last year, but we sensed this is only in small part based on fundamentals and in large part on hope associated with potentially more business-friendly policies and an infrastructure bill. We also noticed a rise in the number of international investors. We continue to believe a material pickup in railcar demand and lease rates is unlikely before late 2017/early 2018.”
In the current down market, a “strong case” can be made for consolidation in the freight car building sector, according to Cowen and Company analyst Matt Elkott.
FreightCar America, Inc. announced May 27, 2016 that its Board of Directors has appointed Theodore (Ted) W. Baun as Chief Commercial Officer, effective June 1, 2016.
FreightCar America, Inc. reported on Nov. 2, 2015 third-quarter 2015 earnings per share of $0.96. This is compared to an estimate of $0.88 made by KeyBanc Capital Market Inc., and a Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.78.