Unanswerable questions lead to uncertain outlook for rail cars, rail traffic

摘要

Uncertain" is the best word to describe the current outlook for rail cars and railroad traffic, and indeed for the whole U.S. economy: There are more questions than answers for rail car forecasters. Will we have a double-dip recession that will depress demand for new rail cars? Will coal traffic recover next year if natural gas prices rise and lift demand for new rail cars? Will environmentalists succeed in blocking developments in the oil and gas industry, and thereby stifle rail shipments of hydrofrack-ing sand and crude oil? Will this same group succeed in blocking the export rise of railroad intermodal traffic should be signaling a strong economy with good prospects for growth in the future, but investors seem to be focused on the loss of coal and grain traffic - and the long-term effect the loss of this business may have on railroad revenue.