Rail demand boosts GATX figures

GATX Corp has reported net income of $110.8m for full year 2011, up 37% on the $80.8m posted for 2010. “The North American rail market recovered more quickly than we anticipated in 2011,” says Brian A Kenney, president/CEO. “Due to broad-based improvement in the demand for railcars, we successfully raised lease rates while maintaining high utilisation throughout the year.”

The rail segment reported a profit of $233.4m for 2011, compared to $150.6m in 2010; North American fleet utilisation stood at 98.2% at end 2011, up from 97.4% a year earlier, and European utilisation also rose to 97.1%.