GLG News by Railcar Market Experts (EU)

Standard Car Truck will be a great addition to the Wabtec family of companies. There is no overlap in product lines and most of the products offered by Standard will compliment those already made at Wabtec. Moreover, there are potential synergies that may enable the company to grow organically...

On September 10, an analyst at USB thought that the two major western railroads would do well in the second half of 2008, the day before CSX upgraded its earnings estimates for its third quarter from around $3.55 to $3.70.  USB had also upgraded Norfolk Southern to a BUY on September 10. Most analysts...

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) had placed its railcar leasing business on the market and invited several bidders to make an offer for its assets before changing its mind and deciding to hold onto the business. They were not alone in considering a sale of their railcar leasing business, although they were perhaps...

The current renaissance for the railroad industry began in 2004 when railroad traffic exploded (double digit gains in some key traffic segments) and freight rates were unlocked and allowed to seek a market level. For the railroad companies, the exceptional profit gains since 2005 have been almost exclusively...

The Class I railroads have boosted their earnings and share prices in recent years by increasing their freight rates much faster than their costs have risen, both fuel and labor. The high price/earnings multiples of their common shares (ranging between 17 and 21) attest to many investors’ belief that...

    Court’s decision vacating the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) potentially affects utilities or IPPs long the allowances as described in the section that follows.

    When air pollution retrofits are placed on a power plant, a regulated, investor-owned, utility financially benefits.  An unregulated, independent power producer (IPP) does not necessarily financially benefit.

    The Court’s July 11, 2008 decision vacating the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) caused the price of SO2 emissions allowances to decrease less than the cost of operating a scrubber to reduce the SO2 emissions.  The discussions that follow discuss this and the likelihood...

    As the article points out, natural gas-fired generation may be cheaper than coal-fired generation in certain parts of the nation.  The section below discusses some of the items that go into the decision to fuel switch from coal to natural gas.

There is much hope that orders for new coal cars will increase in the near future, lifting production rates at Freightcar America (RAIL). Coal exports are up almost 80% from a few years ago and domestic demand should increase significantly when the 52 new coal-fired generating plants which are currently...