Demand for rail equipment and railcars is likely to grow in 2022 and 2023 as customers become more confident about economic recovery in North America, according to rail experts with consulting firm FTR Transportation Intelligence.
“The rail equipment market is only just now starting to turn the corner, unlike truck and trailer equipment where that happened at the end of 2020,” said Todd Tranausky, FTR vice president of rail and intermodal, in a presentation last Thursday. “We really haven’t seen that in rail equipment. We’re just now starting to get there, and it’s going to be next year that there’s going to be a strong uptick.”
The economic recovery so far hasn’t really translated into increased orders for rail equipment and new railcars because of the nature of rail equipment, according to Tranausky. Unlike tractor-trailer equipment, which can turn over more quickly, rail equipment can last for decades and so would-be customers are more cautious about making purchases, he said.
Although FTR forecasts roughly 26,000 railcar deliveries in 2021, that could increase to between 46,000 and 49,000 deliveries in 2022, according to FTR’s presentation.
“Until you’re sure you’re going to see a recovery in freight, until you’re sure there’s durability there, you’re not necessarily inclined to pull the trigger on new orders,” Tranausky said.
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