Fleet management: From working concept to oxymoron to...?

摘要

Considering the wide swings in the production of several types of rail cars in recent months and years, the term "fleet management" has become an oxymoron. Although the annual number of carloads for most car types has remained relatively stable, fluctuating no more than plus or minus 5 percent in any year, new-car demand has risen and fallen with a cyclical variability many times that amount. Something is amiss, and tracing the evolution of the fleet management concept offers a few clues.