Progressive Railroading to present webcast on rail-car market

On July 30 at 1 p.m. (EDT), Progressive Railroading will present a webcast that aims to analyze the current rail-car environment and provide a detailed look at market demand for various cars, including tank, coal and intermodal.

To be conducted by Rail Theory Forecasts L.L.C. President Toby Kolstad and moderated by Progressive Railroading Editor Pat Foran, the webcast is titled, "Rail Car Counts 2013: How Much is Enough?" and costs $199 to attend.

Carload traffic still is well below peak 2007 levels and the size of the backlog of new tank cars seems to be blinding many to the real question of the day: Have too many tank cars been ordered? Although railroads could originate more than 2 million barrels per day of crude oil by 2014's end (compared with about 600,000 barrels at 2012's end), it's unclear whether that many cars will be needed.

In addition, monthly intermodal loads remain on the climb and holding above pre-recession levels since 2012, suggesting such traffic levels will prompt the need for new intermodal equipment.

During the webcast, Kolstad will try to answer such questions as:
• What's behind the new confidence in the volume and longevity of the crude-by-rail market?
• When will traffic levels require new intermodal equipment?
• When will replacement demand for older rail cars start to show?

To obtain more information about the webcast and to register, click on this link.