There are thousands (some say it is nearly 400,000) of lessor-owned rail cars sitting idly around the country. Why?
- Railroads turning cars more quickly
- Coal and sand volume down
Add to this the requirement to strengthen cars used to transport oil, and you have a mess for the investor who bought rolling stock as an investment.
Trivia question: Which company is the biggest lessor of rail cars?
Answer: Wells Fargo with 175,000 – surprised me too…
In 2015, Wells Fargo was awash in cheap deposits it needed to put to work. General Electric Co. was selling off most of its financial business. Wells Fargo struck deals to buy billions in assets from the industrial conglomerate, including 77,000 railcars. It says it is the largest lessor in North America, with more than 175,000 cars.