Finance/Leasing

FreightCar America Castaños, Mexico manufacturing facility.

FreightCar America: ‘Solid Results’ for 4Q23; Randall Named New CEO

FreightCar America (FCA) delivered solid results for fourth-quarter 2023 with gross profit up 62% on significant year-over-year margin expansion, President and CEO Jim Meyer said during a March 18 earnings report, also announcing that Chief Operating Officer Nick Randall, effective May 1, 2024, will succeed Meyer as President and CEO and become a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

Betsy Talton-Buck (left), incoming Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, NS; Angie Kolar (center), incoming Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, NS; and Robin Pol, Managing Director, Trifleet, a GATX Company.
  • News

High Profile: NS, GATX

Norfolk Southern (NS) hires new corporate communications and compliance leaders. Also, Trifleet Leasing Holding B.V. (Trifleet), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago-based GATX Corporation, promotes a veteran employee to Managing Director.

Class I Briefs: CSX, CN, UP, NS

CSX donates $10,000 to the Red Cross for storm relief efforts. Also, CN and Union Pacific (UP) are recognized by CDP as 2023 Supplier Engagement Leaders; CN sends a “supply chain salute” to MacroSource, LLC for their new facility in Memphis, Tenn.; and Norfolk Southern (NS) honors customer sustainability achievements.

Commentary

Bearing Down on Bearings

The bearing related derailment that occurred in East Palestine Feb. 3, 2023 on a Norfolk Southern line was tragic in many ways. Following months of investigation, the NTSB held a hearing on

Tom Ellman, CFO, GATX (left); and Shari Hellerman, Head of Investor Relations, GATX (right).
Commentary

GATX Meeting Takeaways From TD Cowen

We spent a day in two Ohio cities with GATX CFO Tom Ellman and Head of Investor Relations Shari Hellerman. Takeaways include: continued strength in North America railcar leasing; growth in India, where GATX constitutes substantially all the private-sector railcar leasing landscape; Europe growth; and a commitment to investing in long-lived, service-intensive assets, an investment grade, and returning excess cash.

Commentary

Are You Ready for 2024?

Rail Equipment Finance 2024: Does anyone remember the saying “In Like a Lion—Out Like a Lamb”? Intermodal loadings ended 2023 on a strong note and started out 2024 positive as well. The

Justin Roberts, VP, Corporate Finance & Treasurer, The Greenbrier Companies
Commentary

Greenbrier Group Meeting Takeaways From TD Cowen

We hosted a virtual group meeting with Justin Roberts, VP, Corporate Finance & Treasurer, The Greenbrier Companies. Mr. Roberts remains confident in GBX’s long-term operational plan, launched in April at the company’s first-ever investor day. Inquiry and order activity has been solid in recent weeks. He expects stable industry builds at or modestly above replacement for the next few years.

RailPulse, Nexxiot Team on Telemetry

Nexxiot has signed an agreement allowing RailPulse™—the coalition established in late 2020 to “facilitate and accelerate the adoption of GPS and other telematics technology across the North American railcar network”—to act as a

A finished tank car emerges from Greenbrier’s Concarril assembly plant in Sahagún, Mexico. (William C. Vantuono Photograph)

SIG Takeaways From REF 2024

Conversations at the Rail Equipment Finance Conference 2024 (REF), held March 3-6, “suggest favorable railcar leasing fundamentals should continue at least through 2024 and that new railcar orders should recover from fourth-quarter