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Rail-car orders continued to slow in the first quarter. Orders totaled 11,152 units, a 30 percent drop compared with fourth-quarter 2006’s 15,819 units and 69 percent plunge compared with first-quarter 2006’s 35,991 units, according to data released by the American Railway Car Institute Committee of the Railway Supply Institute.

First-quarter car deliveries totaling 17,148 units fell slightly compared with fourth-quarter 2006’s 17,927 units and decreased 7.5 percent compared with first-quarter 2006’s 18,542 units.

Meanwhile, the car backlog as of March 31 totaled 79,038 units, an 8 percent decline compared with the 85,826-unit backlog on Dec. 31, 2006. The backlog previously stood at 88,116 units on September 30, 2006; 85,692 units on June 30, 2006; and 86,857 units on March 31, 2006.