Cowen Surveys Find ‘Encouraging’ Shipper Business Outlook
Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl
Two first-quarter 2021 surveys of rail shippers on pricing and business outlook as well as equipment needs conducted by Cowen and Company analysts Jason Seidl (Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Elliot Alper indicate that, compared with the previous quarter, Class I railroad customers are anticipating somewhat higher rate increases, and a slight decline in new railcar demand.
1Q2021 Rail Equipment Survey
Order expectations by the shipper sub-group of railcar buyers declined slightly, according to Cowen Transportation OEM Analyst and Vice President Equity Research Matt Elkott. “This is true for total shippers and same shippers surveyed,” he noted. Some of the other metrics improved sequentially. “Into the 1Q print, we believe WAB [Wabtec] and GATX are well-positioned for