The total size of the North American rail equipment fleet was down slightly during the fourth quarter of 2020. The total equipment count was 2,095,504 for a decrease of 0.5 percent.
The four largest segments during the quarter were Covered Hoppers (29 percent), Tank Cars (22 percent) and Gondolas and Intermodal (10 percent).
Two car groups increased from the last quarter, Intermodal and EOTs, up 0.5 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Box Cars and Gondolas led declines, both down 1.5 percent.
The total count of equipment in the revenue-earning fleet currently stands at about 1.65 million, down by 0.5 percent from the previous quarter. Every car group was down, with Gondolas and Box Cars decreasing the most, down 1.2 and 1.1 percent, respectively.
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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