Midwest Railcar Corporation

What Midwest Railcar Corporation does

Midwest Railcar Corporation is a North American railcar leasing and fleet management company headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois. Founded in 1998 by Richard Murphy (current President & CEO), the company has been majority-owned by Japan's Marubeni Corporation since November 2006, with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group added as an additional shareholder in June 2016. It operates a managed fleet of approximately 28,000 railcars spanning twelve specialized car types — including small covered hoppers, large covered hoppers, pressure differential covered hoppers, mill gondolas, high-sided gondolas, woodchip gondolas, open top hoppers, coil cars, boxcars, centerbeams, and tank cars ranging from 13K to 34K gallons — designed to transport bulk commodities, dry bulk, sand, iron, scrap metal, waste, coils, woodchips, and liquid/pressurized commodities across North America.

The company earns revenue through three structured railcar leasing arrangements — Full Service leases (where Midwest Railcar arranges maintenance and is responsible for Ad-Valorem taxes), Net Leases (where the customer handles maintenance, insurance, and taxes), and Per Diem agreements (usage-based hourly and/or mileage revenue) — complemented by brokerage services in the secondary railcar market. Its Fleet Management Services layer adds a managed-services revenue stream, offering custom repair-bill auditing software, mileage services, mechanical and engineering expertise, tank car qualification programs, shop audits, AAR Circular reviews, OTMA support, Ad-Valorem tax processing, BRC auditing, consolidated bill paying, railcar tracing, and customized reporting.

Midwest Railcar serves three enterprise segments — shippers, railroads, and third-party investors/operators — through a direct enterprise field-sales motion supported by two offices (Edwardsville, IL and Owings Mills, MD). The company holds no disclosed patents, AI capabilities, or app/digital products; its defensibility rests on access to long-dated institutional capital from Marubeni and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, fleet scale, regulatory/AAR compliance expertise, and multi-year contractual relationships with its customers.

Name

Midwest Railcar Corporation

Legal name

Midwest Railcar

Website

https://midwestrailcar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Midwest Railcar Corporation, headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, leases and manages approximately 28,000 freight railcars across North America for shippers, railroads, and third-party operators. Founded in 1998 and owned by Marubeni Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group since 2006 and 2016 respectively, the company offers Full Service, Net Lease, and Per Diem leasing across twelve railcar types supplemented by fleet management and brokerage services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railcar Leasing Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Rail Transportation (488210), Support Activities for Rail Transportation (48821), Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510), Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011)

akta.pro primary industry

Freight Wagon (Railcar) Maintenance & Repair (TLAKAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dry Bulk Rail Freight (Unit Trains) (TLADAKAB), Rail Transportation of Crude & Refined Products (EUALADAI), Railcar Storage & Staging Yards (TLALAKAF)

Keywords

• Railcar leasing
• Freight rail services
• Fleet management
• Railcar brokerage
• Tank car services

Headquarters

HQ city

Edwardsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Railcar Leasing: Midwest Railcar generates revenue through structured railcar leasing arrangements including Full Service leases (company arranges maintenance and is responsible for Ad-Valorem taxes), Net Leases (customer handles maintenance, insurance, and taxes), and Per Diem agreements (hourly and/or mileage revenue with varying maintenance responsibilities).
2. Fleet Management Services: Comprehensive fleet management including audit and payment of lease invoices, custom software for repair bill auditing, mileage services, mechanical and engineering expertise, tank car qualification programs, shop audits, car inspections, Ad Valorem tax processing, BRC auditing, rate negotiation, consolidated bill paying, railcar tracing, customized reporting, and car specification support.
3. Railcar Brokerage: Brokerage services for commercial freight railcars to shippers, railroads, and third-party users, facilitating transactions in the secondary railcar market.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Midwest Railcar Corporation provides commercial freight railcar leasing, fleet management, and brokerage services across North America. The company operates a fleet of approximately 28,000 railcars across 12 distinct car types (covered hoppers, gondolas, tank cars, coil cars, boxcars, centerbeams) and offers structured leasing arrangements—Full Service, Net Lease, and Per Diem—alongside comprehensive management services including repair bill auditing, regulatory compliance, tax processing, mileage tracking, and railcar tracing for shippers, railroads, and third-party users.

Product overview

Midwest Railcar Corporation is a railcar leasing and management company offering a diverse fleet of 12 distinct railcar types and comprehensive leasing and fleet management services. The product portfolio includes Small Covered Hopper, Covered Hopper, Large Covered Hopper, Pressure Differential Covered Hopper, Mill Gondola, High-Sided Gondola, Woodchip Gondola, Open Top Hopper, Coil Car, Box Car, Centerbeam, and Tank Car. These railcar types are complemented by Leasing Services (Full Service, Net Lease, and Per Diem structures) and Fleet Management Services (including maintenance, auditing, compliance, reporting, and technical support). The company manages approximately 28,000 railcars serving shippers, railroads, and third-party users across North America. Founded in 1998 and owned by Marubeni Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group since 2006 and 2016 respectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Small Covered Hopper Freight railcars less than 4,000 cu. ft. equipped with 3 compartments featuring round or offset hatch configurations and various gate sizes; rated at 263 or 286 GRL for transporting high density commodities. Available for lease to shippers and commercial freight operators.
• Covered Hopper Standard covered hopper freight cars ranging from 4,000–6,000 cu. ft. with 3 or 4 compartments, round or trough hatch configurations, and various gate sizes; rated at 263 or 286 GRL for medium density commodities. Available for lease.
• Large Covered Hopper Large covered hopper freight cars over 6,000 cu. ft. equipped with 4 compartments; rated at 263 or 286 GRL for transporting low density commodities. Available for lease to commercial shippers.
• Pressure Differential Covered Hopper Pressure differential hopper freight cars ranging from roughly 3,000 cu. ft. to 6,000 cu. ft. with round hatch configurations and various compartment and outlet designs; operates at 263 or 286 GRL for efficient unloading of dry bulk commodities. Available for lease.
• Mill Gondola Mill gondola freight cars ranging from 2,244–4,014 cu. ft. with side walls from 4'6" to 6'5"; designed to transport commodities including sand, iron, or scrap metal. Rated at 263 or 286 GRL. Available for lease.
• High-Sided Gondola High sided gondola freight cars of 4,000 cu. ft. or greater for waste, iron, or scrap steel services; built with flat steel plate or rolled steel bottom; rated at 263 or 286 GRL. Available for lease.
• Woodchip Gondola Woodchip gondola freight cars ranging from 6,000 cu. ft. up to 7,120 cu. ft. with single or double end doors; built with flat steel plate bottom; rated at 263 or 286 GRL for lighter and less dense commodities. Available for lease.
• Open Top Hopper Open top hopper freight cars ranging from 2,430 cu. ft. to 3,800 cu. ft. with manual or automated gravity outlet gates; built with steel or aluminum; rated at 263 or 286 GRL for high density commodities. Available for lease.
• Coil Car Coil freight cars of 2,497 cu. ft. equipped to haul 229,100 lbs of payload; rated at 286 GRL with Miner Friction Cushioning System for safe transportation of coils. Available for lease.
• Box Car Box freight cars available in a range of interior lengths, both insulated and non-insulated, equipped with or without load dividers to accommodate a wide variety of commodities; rated at 263 or 286 GRL. Available for lease.
• Centerbeam Centerbeam freight cars available in various lengths, equipped with or without risers; can accommodate a wide variety of commodities; rated at 263 or 286 GRL. Available for lease.
• Tank Car Tank cars ranging from 13K gallons for dense commodities to 34K gallons for pressurized commodities; equipped with all types of loading and unloading configurations; rated at 263 or 286 GRL. Available for lease.
• Railcar Leasing Services Structured railcar leasing arrangements offered as Full Service (Midwest Railcar arranges maintenance and is responsible for Ad-Valorem taxes), Net Lease (customer handles maintenance, insurance, and taxes), or Per Diem (hourly/mileage revenue with varying maintenance responsibilities). Multi-year contracts negotiated with enterprise customers including shippers, railroads, and third-party users.
• Fleet Management Services Comprehensive fleet management services including audit and payment of lease invoices, custom repair bill auditing software, mileage services, mechanical and engineering expertise, tank car qualification programs, shop audits, car inspections, Ad-Valorem tax processing, BRC auditing, rate negotiation, consolidated bill paying, railcar tracing, customized reporting, and car specification support. Provided to shippers, railroads, and third-party railcar owners.
• Railcar Brokerage Brokerage services for commercial freight railcars to shippers, railroads, and third-party users, facilitating transactions in the secondary railcar market.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GATX Corporation: GATX is the largest North American railcar lessor with ~150,000 cars and a full-service offering; direct competitor to Midwest Railcar across hopper, tank, and specialty car leasing with multi-decade enterprise relationships.
• The Greenbrier Companies: Greenbrier operates a large North American railcar leasing fleet (including the Union Tank Car brand) alongside railcar manufacturing, directly overlapping Midwest Railcar's tank car and freight car leasing focus.
• TTX Company: TTX is a railroad-owned railcar pool operator managing hundreds of thousands of cars; overlaps with Midwest Railcar in providing freight railcar capacity to shippers and railroads across North America.
• CIT Rail / First Citizens Rail: CIT Rail operates a large North American railcar leasing and lending platform; comparable to Midwest Railcar in providing equipment-lease solutions to shippers and railroads across multiple car types.
• Union Tank Car Company: Union Tank Car, a Greenbrier subsidiary, is a leading tank car lessor in North America and shares Midwest Railcar's tank car leasing and qualification service line with comparable enterprise customers.
• Trinity Rail (Trinity Industries): Trinity Rail is one of the largest North American railcar lessors and manufacturers with a 100,000+ car fleet; competes head-to-head with Midwest Railcar in hoppers, gondolas, and tank car segments.
• American Railcar Industries (ARI): ARI leases and repairs a meaningful fleet of covered hoppers, tank cars, and specialty freight railcars and shares Midwest Railcar's focus on fleet management, repair, and AAR-compliant assets.
• Wells Fargo Rail (Watco): Wells Fargo Rail (now part of Watco) historically operated a large leased railcar fleet serving diversified North American shippers; comparable in scale and leasing structure to Midwest Railcar's offerings.

Others

• Gunderson Rail Services (Greenbrier): Gunderson Rail Services, a Greenbrier affiliate, provides railcar repair, modification, and parts services; comparable to Midwest Railcar's fleet management and railcar qualification program offerings.
• Progress Rail Services (Caterpillar): Progress Rail provides railcar maintenance, repair, and refurbishment services—comparable to the fleet management, shop audits, and repair bill auditing capabilities Midwest Railcar bundles with Full Service leases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midwest Railcar Corporation