“The North American rail market recovered more quickly than we anticipated in 2011," Brian A. Kenney, president and chief executive officer of GATX, said. "Due to broad-based improvement in the demand for railcars, we successfully raised lease rates while maintaining high utilization throughout the year. The Lease Price Index for the fourth quarter was a positive 13.2% and utilization was strong, ending the year at 98.2% Looking to the year ahead, we expect continued improvement in Rail’s operating results in North America and Europe.

He said GATX invested $615 million in 2011 "primarily to expand our North American and European rail platforms.”

GATX reported 2011 fourth-quarter net income of $31.6 million or $.67 per diluted share, compared with net income of $19.5 million or 42 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net income for the full-year 2011 was $110.8 million or $2.35 per diluted share, compared with net income of $80.8 million or $1.72 per diluted share in the prior year. The 2011 and 2010 results include the positive aggregate impact from Tax Benefits and Other Items of $15.8 million or 34 cents per diluted share and $6.2 million or 13 cents per diluted share, respectively.