Download the Sample Report

The Closer Look Series combines AllTranstek’s rail equipment intelligence with FTR’s dynamic forecasting model and analysis in a collaborative methodology to produce the industry’s most thorough and comprehensive rail equipment forecast and report.

Learn about the ownership trends in this car type, and the expectations for new investment across the various sub-segments of the Flat Car fleet.

FTR_CL_SampleReport_webimage_CL_FlatCars

 

Closer Look: Flat Cars Sample Report

 


 

About the Closer Look: Covered Hopper

Flat Cars are open decked cars designed to carry large products that may not fit within the confined spaces of other railcar types. Over the years, this fleet has become segmented into specialized functional areas, including intermodal, automotive, and general service.

Flat Car traffic relies heavily on the movement of new automobiles and trucks, as well as forest products. How will consumer vehicle preferences, influenced by an improving economy, affect this fleet? Will residential construction, affecting demand for logs and other construction materials, continue to grow? 

The ownership of this fleet is diverse and varied depending on the equipment type. However, investment rates in flat cars have been relatively strong versus some other equipment categories. 

Closer Look: Flat Cars Report Contains
  • A detailed fleet analysis by AllTranstek’s unique car type segmentation scheme, dividing the Flat Car fleet into 8 diverse sub-segments
  • Current fleet sizes for each sub-segment
  • Pictures and illustrations of select car types, unique components, and important commodities
  • Unique characteristics inherent to sub-segments
  • Snapshot of each fleet segment’s age profile allocated by 5- year buckets over a car’s 50-year life
  • Ownership mix profiles across railroads, shippers, and leasing companies
  • Historic deliveries, retirements, and utilization
  • Forecasts and projections by fleet segment: new car deliveries and retirements
  • Current and historic traffic activity across car types
  • Traffic shares, commodity drivers, and industry drivers
  • AllTranstek’s unique Car Demand Pressure Index, illustrating the relationship between fleet size and shipping activity since 2007
  • Fleet ownership mix, age profile, retirement trends, and new equipment delivery forecast for the fleet as a whole


Why you need the Closer Look Series

True to its name, the Closer Look Series scrutinizes the current railcar market with respect to freight transportation across all car types in order to provide the most advanced analytics available in the rail industry. With a wealth of institutional knowledge and data, FTR and AllTranstek combine our efforts and industry expertise to provide the most complete annual update on trends in the North American Railcar Fleet.

The Closer Look Series is comprised of six individual reports covering each of the six major car types: Covered Hoppers, Tank Cars, Gondolas, Open Top Hoppers, Box Cars, and Flat Cars.

These reports provide invaluable information and insight for longstanding rail equipment industry participants, as well and new entrants to the industry, including fleet owners, leasing companies, new car builders, component suppliers, service providers, financial institutions, investors, rail carriers and shippers.

Each Closer Look Report Contains

  • An in depth analysis on one of the six major car types:  Covered Hoppers, Tank Cars, Gondolas, Open Top Hoppers, Box Cars, and Flat Cars.
  • An executive summary that highlights the important take-away’s of the report
  • A market overview detailing the industries and commodity traffic bases that each fleet relies on, as well as analysis focusing on the fleet sub-segments.
  • A detailed fleet overview and analysis by car type segment for each major fleet, including such important factors as fleet size, age profile, ownership mix profiles, traffic base mix, unique car characteristics, historic deliveries, retirements, and fleet utilization
  • Forecasts and projections by fleet segment of fleet demand growth, new car deliveries, retirements
  • Comprehensive fleet ownership profiles by car type segment, including historical ownership shares and trends.
  • The effects of the freight transportation market on historical and current trends for fleet utilization and equipment surpluses.
  • Thorough age profiles for each fleet and its segments, discussing the cumulative effects of retirements, new car orders, and deliveries on the overall age and production backlog of the fleet, as well as forecasted changes in each of these areas.
  • The Closer Look reports are updated annually using the latest available data from FTR, AllTranstek and a variety of industry sources.

NOTE: Save $300 off of each additional report you purchase in the Closer Look Series. Please contact Derek Young at dyoung@ftrintel.com or (888) 988.1699, ext. 66 to obtain a promotion code for ordering.

Get Access to the Closer Look Rail Series