The total size of the North American rail equipment fleet once again held steady during the first quarter of 2014. The total equipment count was 1,982,785 compared to 1,977,131 during the fourth quarter of 2013, resulting in a less than one percent increase from last quarter.
The three largest segments once again were covered hoppers (26 percent), tank cars (19 percent) and gondolas (13 percent).
Group increases over the previous quarter were led by tanks (3.1 percent) and intermodal (2.2 percent); whereas, the most significant declines were found this quarter in hoppers and box cars, down 1.9 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
The total count of equipment in the revenue-earning fleet currently stands at 1.527 million. 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.
To watch quarterly video commentary from Railinc's David Humphrey, click the image below (a new window will open).
Data Source: Railinc Umler® System. Data represents all equipment units on file including pre-registered, restricted and scrap units.
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