ARCI: Rail-car orders lag in Q3

American Railway Car Institute (ARCI) builders continue to produce new rail cars at a "robust pace," but new orders have lagged — an indication of a softer rail market overall, the Railway Supply Institute's ARCI Committee announced this week.

At 7,315 units, rail-car orders in third-quarter 2019 were "well off" the 11,754 units ordered in the second quarter and 24,972 units ordered in third-quarter 2018, according to ARCI data.

Car deliveries in the third quarter fell 7 percent to 14,571 units from the 15,623 units delivered in the second quarter, but soared 30 percent from the 11,221 units delivered in third-quarter 2018.

Meanwhile, the rail-car backlog stood at 58,127 units on Oct. 1, the lowest level since second-quarter 2011, according to ARCI.

The Oct. 1 figure compares with 69,227 units on July 1 and 73,076 units on April 1.