(Editor's note: The following text also appeared in Progressive Railroading's 2018-19 Car & Locomotive Yearbook, which was published in June 2018)

By Pat Foran, Editor

Demand for rail equipment "remained steady" throughout the first quarter of 2018, as Economic Planning Associates (EPA) noted in the executive summary of its quarterly rail-car report, issued May 1.

"Fourth-quarter 2017 deliveries of 13,408 were matched by assemblies of 13,099 cars in this year’s opening quarter," EPA officials said. "And, close to 5,000 cars were added to backlogs in the first quarter. As a result, current backlogs of 55,216 units represent 4.2 quarters of assemblies at current production rates."

Moreover, the "expanding economy" should continue to boost rail-car demand in the near term, EPA said.