I seem you see less and less of them. Is there such a big supply of them sitting idle that new ones aren’t produced any longer?
With the current economic climate…all varieties of cars are stored…including box cars. With cars stored there is very little demand for new cars. As the economy picks up and cars come out of storage the demand for new cars will increase.
I guess I should have wored that better. I know that there are lots of every kind of car in storage right now. As the economy picks up, will there be an oversupply(?) of boxcars for a long time, given that boxcars seem to be used less and less? Most all boxcars that I see in use appear to be well seasoned.
Boxcars in my area are going strong.
MS,
It depends on what kind of boxcars you are talking about. Here in Western Indiana, I see NS run train after train through the Lafayette area with solid sets of NS’s Auto Parts Boxcars. I do see some high cubes once in a while (Maybe once a month) but not very often. I think it depends on the type of box, and the area you railfan/see.
Justin
Answer to Norris’ question: yes, they are.
There weren’t many cars of any type produced in 2009, but I did notice a series of (I think) 500 new FBOX cars. They’re the only ones out there with the new TTX logos.
We’ve gotten to the point–unbelievable as recently as 25-30 years ago–where box cars are no longer the most common type out there. Covered hoppers hold that distinction, and I suspect that tank cars are also ahead of box cars.
Yet, this isn’t as bad as the early 1980s, in which the North American railroad industry went for a good five years without any new box cars being produced. By the late 1980s, the high-roof box car with plug doors had become standard–in both 50- and 60-foot lengths.
FBOX 505458 with new TTX logo.
To earlier points, it depends on the type of boxcar you’re referring to. There is (and was even throughout 2009) solid demand for 50’ and 60’ 100-ton Plate F high cap’y boxcars. Unfortunately, the majority of the NA fleet is made up of Plate C 70-ton equipment… the demand of which is very soft and expected to stay that way.