Does anyone know what the current per diems are for say a covered hopper? Or how they figure per diems? Thanks.
-Tom
The rates are different for each type of covered hopper.
Not to many leasing companys do this anymore,
With the demand for cars most are looking to lock the
cars in at a long term lease rate.
Per Diem has nothing to do with leasing, at least not directly. It is the rate paid to the owner railroad by another railroad hauling its car. It used to be a flat rate per car, per day. Then it got more complicated, using about nine different rates based on the value of the car. Nowadays, it’s even more complicated in terms of the number of rates involved, and the “per day” rate is now computed per hour (that eliminated the “midnight rush” at some interchange points). Also, I believe that most railroad-owned cars also have a per-mile component in their per diem rates. (Privately-owned cars had rates that were exclusively mileage rates.)
I wish I could answer the question about what your typical covered hopper gets per day, or per hour. I know that it was on one of the UMLER sites I used to look at while at work. I can’t get it off my home computer, and can’t remember now whether I was looking at this pre-merger or post-merger.
Someone out here knows, though!
North American, railroad-owned freight cars average about 70-cents/hour or $17.00/day. Newer, higher capacity cars command higher rates while older, lower capacity equipment earns lesser rates. I’ve seen where 12-axle, railroad-owned flat cars (not, specifically, depressed-center ones) have gone for as high as $3.50/hour.
Years ago Per Diem rates were prescribed and regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Today, with deregulation, they’re mostly a private matter. I suppose the rates for a specific car type - say a 100 or 105 ton capacity covered hopper - could fluctuate with seasonal demand.
What would be a typical lease rate for the 5-7 years? And who do they lease to, shipper or railroad? Then does the shipper pay the railroad to transport the car? And would this be the same for a shipper owned car? Thanks
-Tom