Freight Railcar Parts Market Report 2025

The freight railcar parts market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $11.16 billion in 2024 to $11.76 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to economic growth and industrialization, regulatory compliance, global trade expansion, freight transportation cost efficiency, and rail fleet modernization.

The freight railcar parts market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $14.81 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growing e-commerce and logistics, renewable energy initiatives, rail network expansion in emerging markets, increasing demand for specialized railcars, and investments in high-speed rail. Major trends in the forecast period include digitalization of the supply chain, smart rail technologies, technological advancement, focus on lightweight materials, remote monitoring and diagnostics.

The anticipated growth in the freight railcar parts market is driven by the increasing demand for rail transportation. Rail transportation involves the movement of passengers or goods through rail systems, and freight railcar parts play a crucial role in ensuring the safe and efficient transport of goods. For example, in November 2022, Eurostat reported a substantial 8.7% growth in rail freight transport in the European Union (EU) compared to 2020. Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration predicts a 30% increase in overall freight movements in the United States from 19.3 billion tons in 2020 to 25.1 billion tons in 2040. Hence, the growing demand for rail transportation is a key driver for the freight railcar parts market.

The anticipated growth of the freight railcar parts market is fueled by the rising demand for rail freight. Rail freight involves the transportation of goods and commodities by train, utilizing specialized railcars. Freight railcar parts are integral components ensuring the functionality, safety, and efficiency of rail freight operations. Various types of freight railcars are designed to transport specific goods, as seen in the increased number of loaded and billed grain railcars reported by the American Farm Bureau Federation in the fourth quarter of 2022, rising from 321,000 cars in the third quarter to 402,000 cars. Hence, the increasing demand for rail freight is a significant driver for the freight railcar parts market.

A noteworthy trend is the emphasis on product innovations by major companies in the freight railcar parts market. These companies are actively engaged in introducing new and advanced products to maintain their competitive positions. An illustration of this trend is the collaboration between Nevomo, a Poland-based deep-tech company, and GATX Rail Europe, an Austria-based full-service railcar company. Together, they introduced the MagRail booster for rail freight in May 2023. This innovation provides a cost-effective solution to enhance the capacity and efficiency of railway lines. The MagRail booster components, installable on conventional freight wagons from GATX Rail Europe, facilitate traffic automation and infrastructure electrification, offering increased flexibility, capacity, and improved dynamics. Particularly suitable for last-mile areas such as cargo terminals and industrial facilities, MagRail's unique feature allows single wagons to operate independently.

Major companies in the freight railcar parts market are increasingly adopting a strategic partnership approach to design, manufacture, and develop railcar components. Strategic partnerships involve companies leveraging each other's strengths and resources to achieve mutual benefits and success. For example, in April 2024, AT Railway Sub Systems, an India-based company specializing in components for railway infrastructure, formed a partnership with Yujin Machinery, a South Korea-based manufacturer of brake systems and industrial air compressors for rolling stock and high-speed trains. This collaboration will focus on designing, manufacturing, and developing driving gears, couplers, and pantographs for various types of rolling stock, including high-speed and metro trains, regional rapid transit systems, Vande Bharat trains, wagons, trams, and other Indian Railway products, with AT Railway holding a majority stake in the joint venture. This partnership is significant as it will help acquire essential technical expertise for manufacturing these components in India.

In March 2023, Knorr-Bremse AG, a Germany-based manufacturing company, further strengthened its position in the freight railcar parts market by acquiring Westcode UK Ltd., a UK-based rail vehicle engineering company. The acquisition is aimed at expanding Knorr-Bremse's UK service business, supporting various train technologies such as braking, climate control, and entrance systems. This strategic move enables the production and maintenance of a broader range of train subsystems, reinforcing the company's presence in the market.

Major companies operating in the freight railcar parts market include National Steel Car Ltd., Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, Knorr-Bremse AG, Amsted Industries Incorporated, The Greenbrier Companies, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Wabtec Corporation, Trinity Industries Inc., National Steel Car Ltd., American Railcar Industries Inc., FreightCar America Inc., New York Air Brake Corporation, A. Stucki Company, Sasser Family Holdings, Miner Enterprises Inc., Plasser American Corporation, Ronsco Inc., Miller Ingenuity, Midland Manufacturing Corp, Strato Inc., PowerRail Co, Mi-Jack Products Inc., Penn Machine Company, Rail Wheel Factory, Vertex Railcar Corporation.

North America was the largest region in the freight railcar parts market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the freight railcar parts market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the freight railcar parts market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Canada.

Freight railcar parts encompass the diverse elements and components constituting a railcar designed specifically for the transportation of goods or freight. These parts play a pivotal role in ensuring the secure and efficient functioning of freight railcars, facilitating the movement of goods across the extensive rail network.

The primary constituents of freight railcar parts include gears, wheels, axles, bearings, side frames, draft systems, couplers and yokes, airbrakes, and other essential components. Gears, classified as mechanical elements, encompass various gear types, such as spur gears, strategically integrated into transmission systems to regulate speed. These parts find application across various types of railcars, including auto cars, box cars, center beams, covered hoppers, coil cars, flat cars, gondolas, open-top hoppers, refrigerant boxcars, among others. Distribution of these components is facilitated through channels such as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and the after-market.

The freight railcar parts research report is one of a series of new reports that provides freight railcar parts market statistics, including the freight railcar parts industry's global market size, regional shares, competitors with a freight railcar parts market share, detailed freight railcar parts market segments, market trends, and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the freight railcar parts industry. This freight railcar parts market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenarios of the industry.

The freight railcar parts market consists of sales of freight car wheels, bolsters, emergency hand brakes, cargo doors, and multi-car air compressor systems. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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