The rough price for a new tank car is around $110,000. What is the manufacturing cost to build that car? i.e. what sort of margins do the builders have on a railcar?
Thanks in advance.
Tom
It is doubtful you will receive the info you are looking for. Most manufacturers will not share propriatary information such as selling prices, costs, volumes for specific products etc.
Not to say you cannot make a good guess. Trinity Industries is a major manufacturer of tank cars. They are also a publically traded company. Therefore, their financials are available. Go to their website, then to investor relations and pull up their 10k report for 2010.
ARI - American Railcar Industries is also publically traded. I spent quite a bit of time looking at ARI (ARII) earlier this year.
That report will break down their financials and provide info regarding the profitability of their divisions. You should be able to make an educated guess from that info.
Now, be aware that the past few years has seen a virtual shutdown in the railcar manufacturing industry. This past year the activity has increased dramatically and they are running at full capacity with order books filled with activity.
Costs are very different when a company is basically mothballed vs at full capacity, as are revenues. For example, ARI had revenues of $809m in 2008 with net income of $31m. In 2010 revenue was only $274m with a net loss of $27m.
What are your motivations, if I might ask for such info?
Ed
Are you planning to build Tank Cars and Hoppers at a less expensive price and make them safer than older designs?
Andrew