Tank Wagons Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the tank wagons market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global tank wagons market reached a value of nearly $70.8 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.06% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $70.8 billion in 2023 to $89.17 billion in 2028 at a rate of 4.72%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.25% from 2028 and reach $109.78 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising demand for efficient transportation, strong economic growth in emerging markets, growth in the chemical industry, increasing industrialization and rising oil and gas production. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include high-speed railway accidents and limited availability of skilled labor.

Going forward, the growing petrochemical industry, expansion of the automotive industry, rising urbanization and increasing globalization and trade will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the tank wagons market in the future include supply chain disruptions.

The tank wagons market is segmented by tank pressure type into pressurized railroad tank car and general purpose or non-pressurized tank car. The general purpose or non-pressurized tank car market was the largest segment of the tank wagons market segmented by tank pressure type, accounting for 84.14% or $59.57 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the pressurized railroad tank car segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the tank wagons market segmented by tank pressure type, at a CAGR of 5.31% during 2023-2028.

The tank wagons market is segmented by protection type into insulated and non-insulated. The insulated market was the largest segment of the tank wagons market segmented by protection type, accounting for 67.84% or $48.03 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the insulated segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the tank wagons market segmented by protection type, at a CAGR of 5.06% during 2023-2028.

The tank wagons market is segmented by application into crude oil, ethanol, liquefied gases, biofuels, milk, chemicals and other applications. The ethanol market was the largest segment of the tank wagons market segmented by application, accounting for 27.91% or $19.76 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the biofuels segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the tank wagons market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 6.38% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the tank wagons market, accounting for 38.84% or $27.49 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the tank wagons market will be Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, where growth will be at CAGRs of 6.33% and 6.06% respectively. These will be followed by Africa and South America, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 5.78% and 4.70% respectively.

The global tank wagons market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of companies operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 24.88% of the total market in 2023. Alstom was the largest competitor with a 8.41% share of the market, followed by CRRC Corporation Limited with 6.62%, Transmashholding (TMH) with 2.71%, Greenbrier Companies with 2.37%, Trinity Industries Inc. with 1.67%, GATX Corporation with 0.82%, Amsted Industries Corporation with 0.64%, National Steel Car Company with 0.614%, Jindal SAW Ltd. with 0.613% and Union Tank Car Company (UTLX) with 0.42%.

The top opportunities in the tank wagons market segmented by tank pressure type will arise in the general purpose or non-pressurized tank car segment, which will gain $15.05 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the tank wagons market segmented by protection type will arise in the insulated segment, which will gain $13.43 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the tank wagons market segmented by application will arise in the Ethanol segment, which will gain $5.84 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The tank wagons market size will gain the most in China at $5.68 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the tank wagons market include focus on tank wagons designed for transporting light liquids and petroleum, which signifies a crucial development in the logistics and transportation industries, focus on strategically prioritizing the introduction of innovative products to enhance their market position and meet evolving consumer demands, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations and focus on using digital automatic coupling technology to improve efficiencies.

Player-adopted strategies in the tank wagons market include focus on expanding business through strategic partnerships and focus on strategic partnerships to drive innovations.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the tank wagons companies to focus on specialized tank wagons for light liquids transport, focus on innovative product launches, focus on digital automatic coupling technology, focus on pressurized railroad tank car segment, focus on insulated tank wagons segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on targeting ethanol end-users.