Where's My Railcar?
If you were around in the year 2000 you may recall the movie “Dude, Where’s My Car?”. This comedy follows the story of two friends (Jesse and Chester) who, after a long night of partying, discover that Jesse’s car is missing. With no memory of what happened the previous night, they embark on a chaotic journey to find Jesse’s car by piecing together events from the previous night. Eventually, they find Jesse’s car but not without working tirelessly to uncover clues.
Although the circumstances differ between Jesse and Chester's search for their car and the process of locating a missing railcar, the recovery methods share striking similarities. Initially, you start by accessing any accessible data. Then, you diligently contact all possible sources for assistance. If these efforts prove fruitless, the final step involves physically deploying personnel to confirm the accuracy of your findings.
We recently conducted a benchmark analysis on a company's "missing" railcars. With a fleet of 400 railcars, our findings revealed that 3.75% of them had been unaccounted for, remaining stationary since on or before 2023, and some as far back as 2019. The company continued to pay rent on a portion of these railcars while depreciating the rest on their balance sheet, totaling 15 railcars that seemed to have disappeared. The financial implications are significant, with an estimated waste of around $225,000 calculated using an average lease rate of $500 per railcar per month over an average period of 30 months. Although the situation is currently being resolved with the recovery of the missing railcars, it prompts the question: "Dude, Where’s my Railcar?"
The figures we obtained for this fleet are typical when compared to those of other new clients. This situation often arises when we onboard customers to examine their fleet statistics or potentially provide them with leased rail cars and when we add on our railcar support services to customers who lease railcars with us, take on the responsibility of managing our customers' railcar fleets, including locating any lost or underutilized railcars. While these railcars may not be truly lost, they are likely sidelined and not receiving the necessary attention to reintegrate them as valuable assets for transporting goods and yielding profits
Regardless of fleet size, an inactive asset incurs expenses. These expenses can take various forms, such as rental payments, loan repayments, storage fees or losses in product sales affecting your company's earnings. Tealinc provides railcar leasing services to shippers and receivers and provides a la carte services to complement the management of railcars including locating lost railcars, reintegrating them into the fleet, and otherwise leveraging their value for the benefit of our customers.
Contact Shannon Rodgers at shannon@tealinc.com or call her at 321-361-9834