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Rail-car orders skyrocketed in the first quarter, reaching 36,903 units compared with 10,853 units in fourth-quarter 2010 and 5,078 units in first-quarter 2010, according to the American Railway Car Institute (ARCI) Committee of the Railway Supply Institute. The first-quarter order total surpassed the number of cars (29,992) ordered in all of 2010.

First-quarter car deliveries climbed to 7,648 units vs. 7,333 units in fourth-quarter 2010 and 2,550 units in first-quarter 2010.

Meanwhile, the car backlog as of April 1 ballooned to 51,913 units compared with the 22,658-unit backlog on Dec. 31, 2010; 19,267-unit backlog on Oct. 1, 2010; and 14,930-unit backlog on July 1, 2010.

ARCI's quarterly statistics on orders, deliveries and backlogs include data on covered and open-top hoppers, gondolas, flat and tank cars, and articulated and non-articulated cars.