GATX Corporation is a railcar lessor that owns fleets in North America, Europe, and Asia. In addition, jointly with

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

, it owns one of the largest aircraft spare engine lease portfolios. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 148,939 rail cars, including 83,959 tank cars, 64,980 freight cars, and 645

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s. Other major car types owned include covered hoppers, open-top hopper cars, and gondolas. It primarily serves the petroleum industry (29% of 2020 revenues),

chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The ...

(22% of 2020 revenues),

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...

(11% of 2020 revenues), mining industry (10% of 2020 revenues), and transportation industry (20% of 2020 revenues).

History

The company was founded as Atlantic Seaboard Dispatch in Chicago, Illinois in 1898 by Max Epstein to ship beer in refrigerated railcars for Duquesne Brewing Company. In 1902, the company was renamed German-American Car Co., in 1916 it changed its name to General American Tank Car Corp. and became a public company via an initial public offering, and in 1933, it was renamed General American Transportation Corp. In 1949, the company worked with designer Russel Wright to develop "Meladur", a melamine dinnerware. Effective January 1, 2000, General American Transportation Corporation was renamed GATX Rail Corporation, a unit of GATX Corporation. In 2004, the company sold its technology-leasing unit to CIT Group for about $200 million in cash. In September 2013, the company sold its 37.5% interest in AAE Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn Cargo AG to its partner, AAE Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn, for €84.5 million. In March 2014, the company acquired the North American per diem boxcar fleet of GE Capital Rail Services, consisting of more than 18,500 boxcars. In November 2018, the company announced an agreement to acquire up to 3,100 railcars from ECN Capital for up to $229 million. In May 2020, the company sold American Steamship Company, its dry bulk vessel business, to Rand Logistics for $260 million. In December 2020, the company acquired Trifleet Leasing Holding B.V., the fourth largest global tank container lessor.

Reporting marks

GATX's primary freight car marks are: * GATX (for tank cars) * GACX (for general-service freight cars) * GGPX (for coal cars) * GIMX (for intermodal cars) * GPLX (for plastic pellet cars) * GMTX and LLPX (for locomotives) * GPFX (for pressure-differential cars) GATX also owns other marks including GABX, GAEX, GCCX, GFSX, GOHX, GSCX, IPSX, and TRIX including for General American Marks Company and GATX Rail. Many GATX cars carry a large "GATX" logo in the upper corner of the cars regardless of the reporting mark they carry; this logo is applied for marketing reasons and does not have any operational significance.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1898 establishments in Illinois 1910s initial public offerings Companies based in Chicago Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Rolling stock leasing companies Transportation companies based in Illinois Transportation companies of the United States