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What is the market size of the mobile railcar repair service market?
Hello and thank you for contacting Wonder with your question about the mobile rail car repair service market! The short answer to your question is that the rail car maintenance service market has a revenue of $6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.2 percent. Most repair depots are stationary, but companies such as Rescar are experimenting with mobile rail car repair. Below you will find a deep dive of my research and how I came to this conclusion. This research was especially enjoyable for me because I love trains.
MARKET GROWING
According to IBISWorld, the total rail car repair market is worth $6 billion, and growing at a rate of 3.2 percent a year. Increased federal investment, increased rail transport, and insufficient oil pipeline infrastructure are fueling the growth. Demand has grown steadily during the past five years and this is expected to continue. The rail car repair industry accounts for 70 percent of revenue.
MOBILE REPAIR SITE NUMBERS BREAKDOWN
The Rail Mart features a directory of mobile rail car repair stations, with 103 fields services sites in North America. The predominant players are Rescar, UTLX, Harbor Rail Services, and The Andersons Rail Car Repair. To break it down further, Rescar has 30 mobile locations, UTLX has 31 (marked on the map with red pins), Harbor Rail's number was unavailable as they can set up a new location in less than 30 days, and The Andersons Rail Car Repair has eight. In addition, GATX has 17 mobile repair units, American Railcar Industries has seven, and Progress Rail has nine.
FORECAST
In a PowerPoint presentation comparing the market to an expert-level game of Minesweeper, UTLX's Jay McGill reports that half of all repairs are conducted by the railroad companies themselves. Excluding railroad company repairs, the total North American repair market is worth an estimated $2.8 billion.
The advantages of a mobile service station include reduced freight costs, improved usage of the fleet, significant reduction in out-of-service time, lower administrative costs, and provision of a base for predicted and preventative maintenance.
The disadvantages of mobile service stations include increased regulations, lengthy certification process, upfront training costs and time, and difficulty with tank cars.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the future is bright for the mobile rail car repair market, especially in North America. The current market for mobile repair stations in North America that are not owned by railroads is $2.8 billion, and that number grows to $6 billion when you factor in railroad company repairs. With a growth rate of 3.2 percent annually, the repair industry has a promising future as it shifts to mobile repair markets.