What eRAIL Commerce does

eRAIL Commerce is a privately held Texas LLC founded in 2012 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, providing an integrated suite of rail industry services across North America (United States, Canada, Mexico). The company operates six customer-facing service lines: railcar leasing and brokering, railcar storage and brokering, 3PL/4PL logistics (including cross-border customs clearance and freight rate negotiation), railcar maintenance and repair management, railcar scrapping and inspections, and consulting/business development. It also offers a Rail Investing service directed at high net worth individuals.

The company combines an asset-light brokerage model with selective vertical integration. It owns the ERAX railcar leasing fleet and developed a railcar storage terminal in Lacassine, Louisiana, giving it physical capacity alongside its brokerage of third-party storage across North America. Its proprietary technology includes a SaaS platform (the d/b/a brand eFORM Generate) that delivers data-collection forms and apps, a member-only online railcar listings marketplace, a searchable Gauge Tables database, and a Spec Sheets library.

Commercially, eRAIL employs a sales-led model with quote-based pricing, supplemented by free membership registration on its platform. It serves a horizontal mix of customers — Fortune 100 enterprises (Westlake Chemical, Colgate-Palmolive, Phillips 66, Goldman Sachs), mid-market firms, first-time rail shippers, railcar owners and operators, and high net worth investors. The firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional funding, remains at 1-10 employees, and operates from two known U.S. locations (The Woodlands headquarters and the Lacassine storage terminal).

Name

eRAIL Commerce

Legal name

eRAIL Commerce LLC

Website

https://erailcommerce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

eRAIL Commerce is a Texas-based, privately held logistics firm providing railcar leasing, brokering, storage, 3PL/4PL services, and consulting across North America. It serves Fortune 100s, mid-market shippers, railcar owners, and high net worth investors through a sales-led, SaaS-enabled model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), General Warehousing and Storage (49311)

SIC

Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulky & Oversized E-commerce Fulfillment (Large Parcel/Two-Person Delivery Prep) (TLAIADAJ)

Keywords

• Railcar leasing
• Rail logistics services
• Third party logistics
• Railcar storage
• Supply chain consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

The Woodlands

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Railcar Leasing & Brokering: Revenue from facilitating railcar leases, subleases, and brokered transactions between railcar owners and shippers
2. Railcar Storage Services: Revenue from providing and brokering railcar storage space across North America
3. Software Subscription Services: Subscription-based SaaS services for railcar logistics management, member portal access, and data collection forms. Subscription fees are annual with auto-renewal unless cancelled
4. 3PL/4PL Logistics Services: Third-party and fourth-party logistics services including scheduling rail movements, tracking, cross-border customs clearance, and freight rate negotiation
5. Railcar Maintenance & Repair Management: Fleet management and maintenance coordination services for railcar owners
6. Rail Investing: Services for high net worth investors looking to invest in railcars and railroad infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

eRAIL Commerce is an all-inclusive rail industry service provider that facilitates railcar leasing, subleasing, brokering, purchasing, and storage, alongside third-party (3PL) and fourth-party (4PL) logistics services. The company operates a proprietary SaaS platform (under the d/b/a eFORM Generate) offering railcar listings, gauge tables, spec sheets, and data collection forms for rail industry clients.

Product overview

eRAIL Commerce is an all-inclusive rail industry provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of railcar products and logistics services. The company operates as a unified platform combining: (1) railcar products including Tank Cars, Covered Hoppers, Flat Cars, Gondolas, Open Top Hoppers, and Box Cars available for lease, sublease, purchase, or sale; (2) operational services including 3PL/4PL logistics, maintenance & repair management, railcar inspections, transloading, terminal development, and consulting; and (3) proprietary assets including the ERAX railcar leasing fleet and the Lacassine, Louisiana storage terminal. The company also provides digital tools including Gauge Tables, Spec Sheets, and a member-only railcar listings marketplace. Under the d/b/a 'eFORM Generate,' the company offers software services including data collection forms and apps for the rail industry, governed by Terms of Service covering subscription-based access with features like Forms/Apps, Submissions, and Use Cases. The business model serves clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small enterprises, handling cross-border transportation of commodities into Canada and Mexico.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ERAX: Railcar leasing fleet operated by eRAIL Commerce for leasing railcars to clients.

Products and services

• Tank Cars Railcars for transporting bulk liquids such as ethanol, gasoline, diesel, crude oils, refined petroleum products, chemicals, and liquefied gases such as propane, butane, propylene, ammonia, and chlorine. Includes pressurized and non-pressurized (general purpose) tank cars with various DOT classifications, available for lease or purchase.
• Covered Hoppers Railcars for transporting dry bulk commodities. Includes standard covered hoppers with gravity gates, pressure differential (PD) covered hoppers for bulk powders, and plastic pellet covered hoppers for polypropylene, polyethylene, PTA plastic, and PET plastic pellets, available for lease or purchase.
• Flat Cars Versatile railcars for carrying dimensional loads including logs, pipes, finished steel, finished lumber products, military vehicles, intermodal containers, automobiles, and wind tower blades. Includes standard, bulkhead, intermodal, autorack, log, and centerbeam flat cars, available for lease or purchase.
• Gondolas Sturdy railcars for carrying iron ore, pig iron, steel pipe, scrap steel, aluminum scrap metal, aggregates, ballast, and rock products. Includes specialized coil cars for transporting coiled steel and cars ranging from 42-65 feet in length, available for lease or purchase.
• Open Top Hoppers Railcars that load bulk commodities from the top and discharge via manual or pneumatically controlled gates at the bottom. Used for aggregates, coal, pet coke, and other bulk commodities exposed to the environment during transportation, available for lease or purchase.
• Box Cars Railcars for transporting durable and non-durable goods including automotive parts, paper goods, beverages, and packaged goods. Available in standard, insulated, and refrigerated varieties with door options including single/double and sliding/plug doors, available for lease or purchase.
• Railcar Leasing & Brokering Direct railcar leasing and sales, railcar sublease brokering, and purchase-lease back transactions to help clients maximize fleet efficiency. Targeted at railcar owners, shippers, and investors across North America.
• Railcar Storage & Brokering Access to a comprehensive network of railcar storage facilities across North America, with marketing services for storage location owners. Backed by eRAIL's own Lacassine, Louisiana terminal.
• Maintenance & Repair Management Fleet management services connecting railcar owners with dependable maintenance and mobile repair providers, handling all fleet management needs for railcar owners across North America.
• Railcar Scrapping Services to help clients find optimal locations for railcar scrapping to maximize scrap value, for end-of-life railcar assets.
• Third Party Inspection Connection to reputable inspectors for guidance through railcar leases, purchases, and repairs, including pre-loading inspections, for railcar owners and shippers.
• Railcar Cleaning & Flaring Access to fixed and mobile railcar cleaning and gas flaring providers for a wide variety of commodities, supporting railcar preparation and turnaround.
• Railcar Transloaders Connection to railcar transloading services across North America for all types of commodities and locations, enabling modal transfers between rail and other transport modes.
• Terminal Development Guidance through the complex process of railroad terminal development, including assistance with marketing storage facilities, for clients seeking to develop new rail terminals.
• Consulting & Business Development Strategic consulting services and access to a wide client base across North America to help reach the right customer base for rail operations, for companies seeking rail industry expertise.
• Third Party Logistics (3PL) Services Day-to-day logistics services including scheduling rail movements and tracking and tracing railcars, for shippers outsourcing rail operations management.
• Fourth Party Logistics (4PL) Services

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VSP (Vander Equipment)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnereRAIL has partnered with VSP as a participant in their RideTight program, offering customers VSP's deep industry knowledge and engineering of gasket and chemical compatibility for tank car maintenance and safety compliance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GATX Corporation: One of the largest railcar leasing companies in North America, operating tens of thousands of railcars across tank cars, hoppers, and specialized cars. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce as a direct competitor in railcar leasing and storage, but at far greater scale and with full balance-sheet ownership of assets.
• The Greenbrier Companies: Leading railcar manufacturer and lessor with a global footprint and large owned/managed railcar fleet. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in railcar leasing and fleet management, but as a substantially larger manufacturer-lessor with integrated finance.
• Trinity Industries: Manufactures and leases a large fleet of railcars and highway products and operates a comprehensive rail services platform. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in leasing and rail services, but at a much larger scale and broader scope.
• VTG Aktiengesellschaft: European-headquartered railcar leasing company operating a global fleet of tank cars, freight cars, and intermodal wagons. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in railcar leasing across multiple car types, but internationally diversified with a much larger owned fleet.
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide: Global logistics platform combining freight brokerage, managed transportation, and supply chain consulting across truck, intermodal, ocean, and air. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in 4PL-style managed transportation and freight arrangement, but multi-modal and at much larger scale.
• Schneider National: Diversified transportation and logistics provider operating truckload, intermodal, and logistics services across North America. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in intermodal and logistics services for enterprise shippers, but operates owned trucking and intermodal assets at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Hub Group: Asset-light intermodal and logistics services provider offering 3PL services, drayage, truck brokerage, and managed transportation across North America. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in providing 3PL/4PL-style managed logistics services to enterprise shippers.
• RXO, Inc. Tech-enabled freight brokerage providing truck brokerage, managed transportation, and last-mile logistics across North America. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in freight transportation arrangement and broker-led logistics, though RXO is truck-tilted while eRAIL is rail-tilted.
• Herzog: Privately held provider of rail equipment leasing, rail services, and infrastructure services across North America. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in rail-specific equipment leasing and rail-adjacent services, with overlapping customer base among Class I railroads and industrial shippers.
• Echo Global Logistics: Tech-enabled freight broker offering managed transportation, truckload, and intermodal services across North America. Comparable to eRAIL Commerce in providing freight transportation arrangement and managed logistics services with overlapping mid-market and enterprise segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erail-commerce/about
• Xx.com/erailcommerce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 eRAIL Commerce