The total size of the North American rail equipment fleet was up slightly during the second quarter of 2018. The total equipment count was 2,086,480, for an increase of 0.1 percent.
The three largest segments during the quarter were covered hoppers (28 percent), tank cars (20 percent) and gondolas (11 percent).
Four car groups increased from the last quarter, led by intermodal, up 0.8 percent, and flats, up 0.5 percent. Covered hoppers were up 0.2 percent, and hoppers increased by 0.1 percent. Declines during the quarter were led by IM flats and miscellaneous equipment, both down 0.4 percent, and EOTs and Gondolas, both down 0.2 percent.
The total count of equipment in the revenue-earning fleet currently stands at about 1.65 million, up by 0.2 percent from the previous quarter. Covered hoppers and flats led gains at 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, while box cars decreased the most (0.8 percent).
The revenue-earning fleet is a subset of the North American rail fleet that is largely composed of freight cars that can be used in interchange service and against which an interline waybill can be placed. The revenue-earning fleet of freight cars is made up of six sub-fleets: box cars, covered hoppers, flats, gondolas, open hoppers and tank cars. It excludes locomotives, intermodal trailers and containers, maintenance-of-way equipment and end-of-train devices.
Data Source: Railinc Umler System. Data represents all equipment units on files, including pre-registered, restricted and scrap units.
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