Item 1: Business
INTRODUCTION
American Railcar Industries, Inc. (ARI) is a prominent North American designer and manufacturer of hopper and tank railcars, which are currently the two largest markets within the railcar industry. We provide our railcar customers with integrated solutions through a comprehensive set of high quality products and related services offered by our three reportable segments: manufacturing, railcar leasing and railcar services. Manufacturing consists of railcar manufacturing and railcar and industrial component manufacturing. We use certain of these components in our own railcar manufacturing and sell certain of these products to third parties. Railcar leasing consists of railcars manufactured by us and leased to third parties under operating leases. Railcar services consist of railcar repair, engineering and field services. Our business model combines manufacturing, railcar leasing and railcar services and is designed to support the industry with complete railcar solutions over the full life cycle of the railcar. Financial information about our business segments for the years ended
December 31, 2016
,
2015
and
2014
is set forth in Note 19 of our consolidated financial statements. Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “our company,” “the Company”, “we,” “us” and “our,” refer to us and our consolidated subsidiaries and our predecessors.
We were founded and incorporated in Missouri in 1988, reincorporated in Delaware in 2006 and reincorporated again in North Dakota in 2009. Since our formation, we have grown our business from being a small provider of railcar components and railcar maintenance services to an integrated provider of direct sale and leased railcars, railcar components and railcar maintenance and repair services. Our primary customers include shippers, leasing companies, industrial companies, and Class I railroads. In servicing this customer base, we believe our comprehensive railcar leasing and service offerings and our railcar components manufacturing business help us to further penetrate the general railcar manufacturing market. This breadth of product and service offerings provides us with opportunities to partner with our customers to improve our products and services and enhance the value of our offerings.
Our operations include eight manufacturing plants that fabricate and assemble raw materials, mainly steel, into railcars, railcar components and industrial components;
eight
railcar repair plants; and
eleven
mobile repair (mobile units) and mini repair shop (mini shop) locations. Our railcar services business includes railcar repair and maintenance, painting, lining, cleaning, inspections, engineering support and field services. In addition, at times we use our manufacturing facilities to perform certain repair projects. For example, we are currently using a portion of our tank railcar manufacturing facility to perform railcar repair work as it offers a cost effective way to perform repairs and retrofit services in a production line set-up. See Item 2 “
Properties
” for further discussion of our properties.
We are currently party to two joint ventures. Our Ohio Castings Company, LLC (Ohio Castings) joint venture has the capability to manufacture various railcar components for sale, through one of the joint venture partners, to third parties and the other joint venture partners. As discussed below, this joint venture is currently idled. Our Axis, LLC (Axis) joint venture manufactures and sells axles to its joint venture partners for use and distribution both domestically and internationally in traditional freight railcar markets and other railcar markets, such as transit and locomotive railcars.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
We design and manufacture special, customized and general-purpose railcars and a wide range of components primarily for the North American railcar and industrial markets. We have several different railcar types in our broad spectrum of hopper and tank railcar families that service various commodities. Customers may select the size and configuration of the railcar to best suit their needs. By offering our customers both direct sale and railcar leasing opportunities, we continue to foster long-term relationships with key customers, helping them to meet their business and financial objectives. We also support the railcar industry by offering a variety of comprehensive railcar repair services, ranging from full to light repair, engineering and on-site repairs and maintenance through our various repair facilities, including mobile units and mini shops. See Note 19 of our consolidated financial statements for financial information by segment.
Manufacturing
We primarily manufacture two types of railcars, hopper and tank railcars, but have the ability to produce additional railcar types. We offer our customers the option to buy or lease railcars. We also manufacture components for railcar and industrial markets.
Hopper railcars
We manufacture both general service and specialty carbon steel and stainless steel hopper railcars at our Paragould plant. All of our hopper railcars may be equipped with varying combinations of hatches, discharge outlets and protective coatings to provide our customers with a railcar designed to perform in precise operating environments. The flexible nature of our hopper railcar design allows it to be quickly modified to suit changing customer needs. This flexibility can continue to provide value after the initial purchase or lease because our railcars may be converted for reassignment to other services.
We have several different railcar types in our hopper family that target specific customers and specific commodities, including plastic pellets, industrial and food grade starches and flours, grain, corrosive chemicals, heavy ore minerals, clays, cement and sand. Our hopper railcars are specifically designed for shipping a variety of dry bulk products, from light density products, such as plastic pellets, to high-density products, such as cement and sand. Depending upon customer requirements, they can operate in a gravity, positive pressure or vacuum pneumatic unloading environment. CenterFlow
®
and other lines of hopper railcars provide protection for a wide range of dry bulk products and enhance the associated loading, unloading and cleaning processes. Improvements include enhanced designs of the shape of the railcars, underframes, outlet mounting frames, loading hatches, discharge outlets and rotary-dump, which improve the cargo loading and unloading processes.
Tank railcars
We manufacture general service, pressurized, coiled, lined and insulated carbon steel and stainless steel tank railcars at our Marmaduke plant. Our tank railcars are designed to transport a variety of commodities including chemicals, natural gas liquids, vegetable oil, corn syrup and other food products, ethanol and crude oil. Our pressure tank railcars transport products that require a pressurized state due to their liquid, semi-gaseous or gaseous nature, including chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, liquid propane and butane. Our pressure tank railcars feature a thicker pressure retaining inner shell that is separated from a jacketed outer shell by layers of insulation, thermal protection or both. Our pressure tank railcars are made from specific grades of normalized steel that are selected for toughness and ease of welding. Most of our tank railcars feature a sloped bottom tank that provides improved drainage. Many of our tank railcars feature coils that can be steam-heated to decrease cargo viscosity, which speeds unloading. We can alter the design of our tank railcars to address specific customer or regulatory requirements and we can also apply linings to tank railcars.
Other railcar types
We have the design capabilities, manufacturing flexibility and expertise to produce many other railcar types as we have in the past and may produce in the future, as demand may dictate.
Component manufacturing
In addition to manufacturing railcars, we also manufacture custom and standard railcar components. Our products include discharge outlets for hopper railcars, tank railcar components and valves, tank heads, manway covers, wheel pair sets, underframes, outlet components and running boards for industrial and railroad customers and hitches for the intermodal market. We use these components in our own railcar manufacturing and sell certain of these products to third parties.
We also manufacture aluminum and special alloy steel castings that we sell primarily to industrial customers. These products include castings for the trucking, construction, mining and oil and gas exploration markets, as well as finished, machined castings and other custom machined products.
Consulting and license agreements
In January 2013, we entered into a purchasing and engineering services agreement and license with ACF Industries, LLC (ACF), an affiliate of Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP. Under this agreement, we provide purchasing and engineering support to ACF in connection with ACF's manufacture and sale of certain tank railcars at its facility. Additionally, we provide certain intellectual property required to manufacture and sell such tank railcars. In December 2016, ARI and ACF amended this agreement to, among other things, extend the termination date from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017, subject to certain early termination events.
Railcar Leasing
Customers may lease our hopper and tank railcars through various leasing options. Maintenance of leased railcars may be provided, in part, through our railcar repair and refurbishment facilities. The terms of our railcar leases generally range from 5 to 10 years and generally provide for fixed monthly rentals. As of December 31, 2016, we had
11,268
railcars in our lease fleet, with over 99% under lease.
Railcar Services
Our railcar services segment focuses on railcar repair, engineering and field services. Our primary customers for services provided by this group are leasing companies and shippers of specialty hopper and tank railcars. Our railcar services segment provides us with insight into our customers' railcar needs, which we use to improve service and product offerings across all our business segments.
Repair services
This component of our business includes both our full service repair and refurbishment plants and our light service repair plants, which are strategically located to serve our customers. Our full service repair plants have full cleaning, interior and exterior coating, repair / rebuilding, non-destructive testing and engineering capabilities for a variety of railcar types. Our light repair plants provide a focused offering to specific areas, in addition to quicker throughput. We have the capacity to handle large reassignment projects, heavy wreck repair, and conversions to make, or keep, railcars compliant with regulations, as well as many other customer requirements. The capacity at these facilities will also aid us, and our customers, in complying with the Federal Railroad Administration's Revised Directive, as discussed below.
Engineering and field services
We offer a wide array of field services through our mobile units and mini shops. Working together with our field services network, our engineers are available to assist in quickly resolving railcar maintenance and regulatory compliance issues. Information learned in the field is used to educate other aspects of our business, allowing us to recognize and address maintenance and compliance issues that affect our customers' fleets.
Consulting and license agreements
In April 2015, we entered into a repair services and support agreement with ACF. Under this agreement, we provide certain sales and administrative and technical services, materials and purchasing support and engineering services to ACF to provide repair and retrofit services (Repair Services). Additionally, we provide a non-exclusive and non-assignable license of certain intellectual property related to the Repair Services for railcars.
SALES AND MARKETING
We sell and market our products and services in North America. Currently, American Railcar Leasing, LLC (ARL) markets our railcars for sale or lease, subject to certain exceptions, and acts as our manager to lease railcars on our behalf for a fee. ARL is an affiliate of Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP. In addition to ARL's marketing efforts on our behalf, we market our railcars for direct sale to certain leasing customers and sell our component products and railcar services.
On December 16, 2016, the equity holders of ARL entered into a purchase agreement (the ARL Purchase Agreement) to sell their interests in ARL to SMBC Rail Services, LLC (the Buyer). Subject to the terms and conditions of the ARL Purchase Agreement, the initial closing is anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2017. In anticipation of the expected sale of ARL (the ARL Sale) to the Buyer, ARI and ARL entered into a railcar management transition agreement (the RMTA) to manage the transition, from ARL to ARI, of our railcar leasing business. See Note 18 of our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the RMTA. Pursuant to the RMTA, following the transition of management of our railcar leasing business, we will begin to market all of our railcars for sale or lease, as well as continue to sell our component products and railcar services.
Certain of our component products are sold directly to customers via catalogs and the Internet through which our customers have access to our railcar and industrial components. Our marketing activities include commodity and industry based market research and analyses, advertising via electronic and print publications, participation in trade shows and industry forums and distribution of sales literature and marketing materials.
In
2016
, our top two customers, CP Chemical Company, LLC and Equistar Chemicals, LP, accounted for approximately 17.9% and 12.3% of our consolidated revenues, respectively and no other customers accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated revenues. In
2016
, sales to our top ten customers accounted for approximately 65.3% of our consolidated revenues.
See Note 19 of our consolidated financial statements for geographical information concerning the sales of our products and services, as well as other sales concentration information.
BACKLOG
We define backlog as the number and sales value of railcars that our customers have committed in writing to purchase or lease from us that have not been shipped. As of
December 31, 2016
, our total backlog was
3,813
railcars, of which
2,176
railcars
with an estimated value of
$198.3 million
were orders for direct sale and
1,637
railcars with an estimated market value of
$152.2 million
were orders for railcars that will be subject to lease. Approximately
67%
of the railcars in our backlog are expected to be delivered during
2017
,
37%
for direct sale and
30%
for lease. All of our backlog as of
December 31, 2016
and December 31, 2015 related to railcars for non-affiliated customers. As of
December 31, 2015
, our total backlog was
7,081
railcars, of which 5,629 railcars with an estimated value of $550.1 million were orders for direct sale and 1,452 railcars with an estimated market value of $144.7 million were orders for railcars that will be subject to lease.
Railcars for Sale.
As of
December 31, 2016
, approximately
57.1%
of the total number of railcars in our backlog were railcars for direct sale. Estimated market value of railcars for direct sale reflects the total revenues expected as if such backlog were converted to actual revenues at the end of the particular period.
Railcars for Lease
. As of
December 31, 2016
, approximately
42.9%
of the total number of railcars in our backlog were for lease, subject to firm orders. Estimated backlog value of railcars that will be subject to lease reflects the estimated market value of each railcar as if it had been sold to a third party. Actual revenues for railcars subject to lease are recognized per the terms of the lease and are not based on the estimated backlog value.
The following table shows our reported railcar backlog and estimated future revenue value attributable to such backlog at the end of the periods shown. The reported backlog includes railcars relating to purchase or lease obligations based upon an assumed mix.
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2016
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2015
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Railcar backlog at January 1
|
7,081
|
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11,732
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New railcars shipped
|
(4,836
|
)
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|
(8,903
|
)
|
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New railcar orders
|
1,568
|
|
|
4,252
|
|
|
Railcar backlog at December 31
|
3,813
|
|
|
7,081
|
|
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Estimated railcar backlog value at end of period (in thousands)
(1)
|
$
|
350,501
|
|
|
$
|
694,878
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(1)
|
Estimated backlog value reflects the total revenues expected to be attributable to the backlog reported at the end of the particular period as if such backlog were converted to actual revenues. Estimated backlog value reflects known price adjustments for material cost changes but does not reflect a projection of any future material price adjustments that are generally provided for in our customer contracts.
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We cannot guarantee that the actual revenue from these orders will equal our reported estimated backlog value or that our future revenue efforts will be successful. Customer orders may be subject to requests for delays in deliveries, inspection rights and other customary industry terms and conditions, which could prevent or delay railcars in our backlog from being shipped and converted into revenue. Historically, we have experienced little variation between the number of railcars ordered and the number of railcars actually shipped. As delivery dates could be extended on certain orders, we cannot guarantee that our reported railcar backlog will convert to revenue in any particular period, if at all.
SUPPLIERS AND MATERIALS
Our business depends on the adequate supply of numerous railcar components, including railcar wheels, brakes, axles, bearings, yokes, tank railcar heads, sideframes, bolsters and other heavy castings, and raw materials, such as steel and normalized steel plate, used in the production and maintenance of railcars. Due to our vertical integration efforts, including our involvement in joint ventures, we are currently able to produce axles, and tank railcar heads and assemble wheel sets, along with numerous other railcar components.
The cost of raw materials and railcar components represents a significant amount of the direct manufacturing costs of our railcar product lines. Our railcar manufacturing contracts generally contain provisions for price adjustments that track fluctuations in the prices of certain raw materials and railcar components, including carbon and stainless steel, so that increases in our manufacturing costs caused by increases in the prices of these raw materials and components are passed on to our customers. Conversely, if the price of those materials or components decreases, a discount is applied to reflect the decrease in cost.
In
2016
, our top three suppliers accounted for approximately 37.7% of the total materials that we purchased and our top ten suppliers accounted for approximately 59.6% of the total materials that we purchased.
Steel
We use hot rolled steel coils, as-rolled steel plate and normalized steel plate in our manufacturing operations. We can acquire hot rolled steel coils and standard as-rolled steel plate from several suppliers. However, there are a limited number of qualified domestic suppliers of the form and size of as-rolled and normalized steel plate that we need for manufacturing tank railcars, and these suppliers are our only source of this product. Normalized steel plate is a special form of heat-treated steel that is stronger and is more resistant to puncture than as-rolled steel plate. Normalized steel plate is required by federal regulations to be used in tank railcars carrying certain types of hazardous cargo.
Castings
Heavy castings that we use in our railcar manufacturing primarily include bolsters and sideframes that are components of truck assemblies, upon which railcars are mounted, as well as couplers and yokes. Historically, we have obtained a significant portion of our castings requirements from our joint venture, Ohio Castings. Beginning in January 2017, Ohio Castings' production was idled by the joint venture partners based on expected industry demand. We expect that Ohio Castings will remain idle through at least the end of 2017, subject to re-evaluation based on changes in future demand expectations. During this idle period, we expect to fulfill all of our castings requirements from third party vendors.
Axles
Axles, at times, have been a capacity constrained critical component of manufacturing railcars. Our joint venture, Axis, produces railcar axles and is our primary supplier of such axles.
COMPETITION
The North American railcar manufacturing industry has historically been extremely competitive. We compete primarily with Trinity Industries, Inc. (Trinity), The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (Greenbrier), National Steel Car Limited, and FreightCar America, Inc. in the hopper railcar market and primarily with Trinity, Greenbrier and Union Tank Car Company in the tank railcar market. Competitors have expanded and may continue to expand their capabilities into our core railcar markets.
We also experience intense competition in our railcar leasing business from railcar manufacturers, leasing companies, banks and other financial institutions. Some of our railcar manufacturing competitors produce railcars for use in their own railcar leasing fleets, competing directly with our railcar leasing business and with other leasing companies. Some of this railcar leasing business competition also includes certain of our significant customers and affiliates, including ARL, though provisions in our railcar management contracts with ARL require ARL to treat our railcars consistent with generally accepted industry standards and to adhere to standards of conduct that are at least equal to the efforts used by ARL in its management of its own and other customers’ railcars. As mentioned above, in anticipation of the ARL Sale, ARI and ARL entered into the RMTA to manage the transition, from ARL to ARI, of the management of our railcar leasing business. The RMTA, among other things and subject to its terms, also provides for the termination of, and the discharge and release of obligations under, certain other agreements to which ARI or its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and ARL, on the other hand, are parties, including our railcar management contracts with ARL. See Note 18 of our consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the RMTA.
Our competition for the sale of railcar components includes our competitors in the railcar manufacturing market, as well as a concentrated group of companies whose primary business focus is the production of one or more specialty components. We compete with numerous companies in our railcar services businesses, ranging from companies with greater resources than we have to small, local companies.
In addition to price, competition in all of our markets is based on quality, reputation, reliability of delivery, proximity to products and services, customer service and other factors.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We believe that manufacturing expertise, the improvement of existing technology and the development of new products may be more important than patent protection in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage. Nevertheless, we have obtained several patents and will continue to make efforts to obtain patents, when available, in connection with our product development and design activities.
ARI
®
, Pressureaide
®
, CenterFlow
®
and our railcar logo are our U.S. registered trademarks. We also have a common law trademark in the name American Railcar. We currently license our trademarks “American Railcar” and the “diamond shape” of our logo to ARL pursuant to a Trademark License Agreement. In accordance with the terms of the RMTA, ARL will be required to discontinue using the name American Railcar and the diamond shape of its logo following the consummation of the
ARL Sale. Each trademark, trade name or service mark of any other company appearing in this report belongs to its respective holder.
In connection with the ARL Sale and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the RMTA, ARL provides us an irrevocable, fully paid, non-transferrable (except as set forth therein), royalty-free license to certain software and databases owned and used by ARL to manage leased railcars. We expect to use this license to manage our railcar leasing business. This license will remain in effect even if the ARL Sale is not consummated.
EMPLOYEES
As of
December 31, 2016
, we had 2,159 full-time employees in various locations throughout the United States and Canada, of which approximately
7.7%
were party to domestic collective bargaining agreements at two of our repair facilities and at our Texas manufacturing facility.
REGULATION
The industries in which we operate are subject to extensive regulation by various governmental, regulatory and industry authorities and by federal, state, local and foreign authorities. The primary regulatory and industry authorities involved in the regulation of the railcar industry in the U.S. and Canada are the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Association of American Railroads (AAR), U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Transport Canada (TC). The FRA administers and enforces U.S. Federal laws and regulations relating to railroad safety. These regulations govern equipment and safety compliance standards for railcars and other rail equipment used in interstate commerce. The AAR promulgates a wide variety of rules and regulations governing safety and design of equipment, relationships among railroads with respect to railcars in interchange and other matters. The AAR also certifies railcar manufacturers and component manufacturers that provide equipment for use on railroads in the U.S. New products must generally undergo AAR testing and approval processes. Because of these regulations, we must maintain certifications with the AAR as a manufacturer of railcars and railcar components, and products that we sell must meet AAR and FRA standards. We must comply with the rules of the USDOT and we are subject to oversight by TC that also requires compliance.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
We are subject to comprehensive federal, state, local and international environmental laws and regulations relating to the release or discharge of materials into the environment, the management, use, processing, handling, storage, transport or disposal of hazardous materials and wastes, and other laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and the environment. These laws and regulations expose us to liability for the environmental condition of our current or formerly owned or operated facilities and negligent acts, and also may expose us to liability for the conduct of others or for our actions that complied with all applicable laws at the time these actions were taken. In addition, these laws may require significant expenditures to achieve compliance, and are frequently modified or revised to impose new obligations. Civil and criminal fines and penalties and other sanctions may be imposed for non-compliance with these environmental laws and regulations. Our operations that involve hazardous materials also raise potential risks of liability under common law.
Environmental operating permits are, or may be, required for our operations under these laws and regulations. These operating permits are subject to modification, renewal and revocation. We regularly monitor and review our operations, procedures and policies for compliance with permits, laws and regulations. Despite these compliance efforts, risk of environmental liability is inherent in the operation of our businesses, as it is with other companies engaged in similar businesses.
Certain real property we acquired from ACF in 1994 has been involved in investigation and remediation activities to address contamination. ACF is an affiliate of Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP. Substantially all of the issues identified with respect to these properties relate to the use of these properties prior to their transfer to us by ACF and for which ACF has retained liability for environmental contamination that may have existed at the time of transfer to us. ACF has also agreed to indemnify us for any cost that might be incurred with those existing issues. As of the date of this report, we do not believe we will incur material costs in connection with any activities relating to these properties, but we cannot assure that this will be the case. If ACF fails to honor its obligations to us, we could be responsible for the cost of any additional investigation or remediation activities relating to these properties that may be required.
We believe that our operations and facilities are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and that any noncompliance is not likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Future events, such as new environmental regulations or changes in or modified interpretations of existing laws and regulations or enforcement policies, or further investigation or evaluation of the potential health hazards of products or business activities, may give rise to additional compliance and other costs that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition
or results of operations. In addition, we have historically conducted investigation and remediation activities at properties that we own to address past contamination. To date, such costs have not been material. Although we believe we have satisfactorily addressed all known material contamination through our remediation activities, there can be no assurance that these activities have addressed all past contamination. The discovery of past contamination or the release of hazardous substances into the environment at our current or formerly owned or operated facilities could require us in the future to incur investigative or remedial costs or other liabilities that could be material or that could interfere with the operation of our businesses.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our principal executive offices are located at 100 Clark Street, St. Charles, Missouri, 63301, our telephone number is (636) 940–6000. We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You may find a copy of these materials at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at Room 1580, 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information on the operation of the public reference room. These materials may also be accessed through the SEC's website
sec.gov
. Copies of our annual, quarterly and current reports, Audit Committee Charter, Code of Business Conduct and Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers are available on our website
americanrailcar.com
or free of charge by contacting our Investor Relations Department at American Railcar Industries, Inc., 100 Clark Street, St. Charles, Missouri, 63301.
Item 1A: Risk Factors
The following risk factors should be considered carefully in addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” above. Our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additional risks and uncertainties that management is not aware of or that are currently deemed immaterial may also adversely affect our business operations. If any of the following risks materialize, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The highly cyclical nature of the railcar industry may result in lower revenues during economic downturns or due to other factors.
The North American railcar market has been, and we expect it to continue to be, highly cyclical, resulting in volatility in demand for our products and services. Many of our customers operate in cyclical markets, such as the energy, chemical agricultural, food and construction industries, which are susceptible to macroeconomic downturns. Weakness in certain sectors of the U.S. economy may make it more difficult for us to sell or lease certain types of railcars. The cyclical nature of the railcar industry may result in lower revenues during economic or industry downturns due to decreased demand for both new and replacement railcars and railcar products and lower demand for railcars on lease. Decreased demand could result in lower new railcar volumes for sale and lease, increased downtime, reduced sale prices or lease rates and decreased cash flow.
The market for hopper and tank railcars is currently experiencing a downturn. We cannot assure you that hopper or tank railcar demand will maintain its current pace, that demand for any railcar types or railcar services will improve, or that our railcar backlog, orders or shipments will track industry-wide trends.
Our failure to obtain new orders could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, and may be exacerbated to the extent that our backlog is depleted due to shipments of railcars outpacing new orders. Downturns in part or all of the railcar manufacturing industry may occur in the future, resulting in decreased demand for our products and services, reduced backlog and adjustments in production at our railcar facilities. For example, a change in environmental regulations, oil prices, competitive pricing, pipeline capacity and other factors could trigger a cyclical shift and could impact demand for railcars in the energy transportation industry.
Further, a change in our product mix due to cyclical shifts in demand could have an adverse effect on our profitability. We have several different railcar types in our hopper and tank railcar families that we manufacture and lease. In addition, we repair a variety of railcars. The demand for specific types of these railcars varies from time to time. These shifts in demand could affect our margins and could have an adverse effect on our profitability. In addition, if we fail to manage our overhead costs and variations in production rates, our business could suffer.
We may incur significant costs, loss to reputation and further regulatory action as a result of the issuance of the FRA Directive, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to access capital.
On September 30, 2016, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued Railworthiness Directive (RWD) No. 2016-01 (the Original Directive). The Original Directive addressed, among other things, certain welding practices in one weld area in specified DOT 111 tank railcars manufactured between 2009 and 2015 by ARI and ACF Industries, LLC (ACF). ACF is an affiliate of Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal and beneficial stockholder through IELP. We met and corresponded with the FRA following the issuance of the Original Directive to express our concerns with the Original Directive and its impact on us, as well as the industry as a whole.
On November 18, 2016 (the Issuance Date), the FRA issued RWD No. 2016-01 [Revised] (the Revised Directive). The Revised Directive changes and supersedes the Original Directive in several ways. The Original Directive indicated that approximately 14,800 general purpose tank railcars could be affected. The Revised Directive requires owners to identify their subject tank cars and then from that population identify the 15% of subject tank cars currently in hazardous materials service with the highest mileage in each tank car owner’s fleet. Visual inspection of each of the subject tank railcars is required of the car operator prior to putting any railcar into service. Owners must ensure appropriate inspection, testing and repairs, if needed, within 12 months of the Issuance Date for the 15% of their subject tank railcars identified to be in hazardous materials service with the highest mileage. The FRA will monitor and analyze the results of the 15% sample and has reserved the right to impose additional test and inspection requirements for the remaining fleet of tank cars subject to the Revised Directive.
Owners, including the Company as a railcar lessor, and lessees of the subject railcars will likely incur costs associated with compliance with the Revised Directive, including but not limited to, costs of inspection, cleaning and repair, if necessary, as well as freight costs for transporting covered railcars to and from repair facilities. We, and other lessors of subject railcars, may also experience loss of revenue during periods of rent abatement, if applicable, as a result of railcars being out of service due to compliance with the Revised Directive.
In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, as of December 31, 2016, we have established a loss contingency of
$12.3 million
to cover our probable and estimable liabilities with respect to our response to the Revised Directive, taking into account currently available information and our contractual obligations in our capacity as both a manufacturer and lessor of railcars subject to the Revised Directive. The
$12.3 million
loss contingency represents a reduction from the loss contingency that we established as of September 30, 2016 for the Original Directive and reflects the changes made by the FRA from the Original Directive to the Revised Directive that reduced the number of railcars that are currently required to be inspected and repaired, if necessary. It is reasonably possible that a loss exists in excess of the amount accrued by us. Subsequent developments with respect to the Revised Directive, including but not limited to actions by the FRA, whether as a result of its analysis of the 15% sample or otherwise, may affect our assessment and estimates of the loss contingency recorded as a reserve and require us to make payments in excess of our reserves, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our overall costs of compliance with the Revised Directive beyond the probable and estimable liabilities discussed above cannot currently be reasonably estimated and we cannot assure you that the amount of our loss contingency accrual is adequate to cover our actual costs and losses. Such costs may be substantial and may not be adequately covered by insurance, if at all, and could include costs relating to, among others:
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•
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applicable warranties included in sale and leasing arrangements;
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implementing changes to our manufacturing personnel or processes; and
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claims, litigation, settlements and/or regulatory proceedings.
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On December 13, 2016, we filed a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against the FRA. We asserted that (i) the Revised Directive was unlawful and inconsistent with administrative law, (ii) the Revised Directive is arbitrary, capricious and inconsistent with law, (iii) the FRA exceeded its authority when it issued the Revised Directive and (iv) the Revised Directive was an improper adjudication under applicable laws. The petition requests that the court review, remand and vacate, defer enforcement of, and/or stay pending review, the Revised Directive. We cannot assure you that this petition will be successful in reversing or modifying the Revised Directive to benefit owners of railcars subject to the Revised Directive or, if it is successful, whether it will be successful in a reasonable amount of time. Regardless of the petition, significant uncertainty exists in connection with the Revised Directive and its implementation. Our attempts to comply with the Revised Directive may fail if we are unable to get clarification from the FRA on a variety of questions and we do not meet the expectations of the FRA in complying with the Revised Directive.
Complying with the Revised Directive could disrupt our operations or restrict our ability to expand our lease fleet. Failure to successfully manage our compliance with the Revised Directive and assist other car owners with their compliance efforts could cause delays or cancellations of orders, lost revenue, harm to our reputation, deterioration of business and customer relationships, including with our affiliates, and result in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any material loss of revenue due to rent abatement, or otherwise, could adversely affect our ability to comply with covenants in our debt facilities. We cannot assure that costs incurred to comply with any regulations, including the Revised Directive, will not be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Under the Revised Directive, the FRA also reserved the right to seek civil penalties or to take any other appropriate enforcement action for violation of the Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations that have occurred. To the extent we become subject to any such civil penalties and/or enforcement actions, it could result in substantial costs and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our transition to managing our own railcar lease fleet is subject to various risks and uncertainties and may adversely impact our customer relationships, business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In anticipation of the expected sale of ARL (the ARL Sale) to SMBC Rail Services LLC (the Buyer) in the second quarter of 2017, we entered into a railcar management transition agreement (the RMTA) to manage the transition, from ARL to us, of the management of railcars owned by us and our subsidiaries. The RMTA, among other things, (i) permits us to assume the management of our railcars following the consummation of the ARL Sale; (ii) requires us to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the consent of noteholders (the Noteholder Consent) for ARI to replace ARL as manager of railcars owned by our subsidiary, Longtrain Leasing III, LLC (Longtrain) under that certain Indenture, dated January 29, 2015, between Longtrain and U.S. Bank National Association, as indenture trustee (the Longtrain Indenture), and certain related documents; and (iii) requires ARL to transfer to us certain books and records and electronic data with respect to our railcars and leasing business and otherwise assist in the transfer of the management of the leasing business to us, provided that if we do not obtain the Noteholder Consent, ARL, under the Buyer's management, will remain the manager of the railcars owned by Longtrain under the Longtrain Indenture. We have no obligation to pay any consent or similar fees in connection with obtaining the Noteholder Consent.
The process of transitioning the management of our leasing business from ARL to ARI may involve unexpected costs and expenses. This transition may cause confusion among our customers, and may lead our customers to attempt to negotiate changes in our existing relationships or cause them to consider entering into business relationships with other parties, including ARL, to our detriment. Further, we are engaging in a process to separate documentation of our leases from ARL’s leases. This process requires the cooperation of our leasing customers and financing partners. If our customers and financing partners do not cooperate, we may need to rely on ARL’s continued cooperation, under the Buyer's management, to enforce our rights as lessor under our leases.
Under our railcar management agreements, we have relied on ARL to manage and market our railcars for lease and re-lease. As a result, we have limited experience managing a leased fleet. We are in the process of building our lease management team, including by hiring new employees. Our ability to successfully manage our own railcar leasing business will depend in part on our ability to hire and/or rededicate qualified employees to support and manage our railcar leasing business. If we are unable to recruit, retain and train qualified personnel, our ability to manage our lease fleet could be materially adversely affected.
We cannot ensure an effective transition of the management of our leasing business from ARL to ARI will happen in a timely manner or at all. If we are unsuccessful or delayed in this endeavor, we may experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Further, this transition could disrupt our business by causing unforeseen operating difficulties, diverting management’s attention from day-to-day operations and requiring significant financial resources that would otherwise be used for the ongoing development of our business.
We may encounter challenges implementing the intellectual property that we have licensed for use in our leasing business, managing the cessation of use of certain of our intellectual property and protecting our intellectual property and confidential information from misuse.
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the RMTA, ARL provides us an irrevocable, fully paid, non-transferrable (except as set forth therein), royalty-free license to certain software and databases owned and used by ARL to manage leased railcars. We could experience problems or delays in implementing such software and databases or integrating them with our current information technology systems that are important to the operations of our business. We may experience compatibility issues, additional training requirements, higher than expected implementation costs and other implementation or integration challenges and delays. If we experience delays in implementing the software and databases licensed from ARL, our leasing business could suffer. This could negatively impact our customers and customer relationships, our ability to maintain and grow our leasing business and our reputation as a railcar lessor. It could also have an adverse effect on our ability to generate and interpret
accurate management and financial reports and other information on a timely basis, which could materially adversely affect our financial reporting system and internal controls and our ability to manage our business.
The RMTA provides for the performance of services related to the software and databases by ARL for our benefit for a period of time after the ARL Sale, at which point ARL will be under the Buyer's management. We will rely on ARL to satisfy its performance and payment obligations under the RMTA. If ARL is unable to satisfy its obligations under the RMTA, including its indemnification obligations, we could incur operational difficulties or losses.
The RMTA also provides for the termination, as of the consummation of the ARL Sale, of a Trademark License Agreement between us and ARL, pursuant to which we granted to ARL a license to use our trademarks “American Railcar” and the “diamond shape” of its logo, and provides for the wind-down of ARL’s use of such trademarks. We may experience problems with market and customer confusion as ARL transitions away from using the trademark American Railcar and its logo. The wind down of ARL’s use of our trademarks will occur over a period of time depending on when railcars are in need of service and can be remarked and whether railcars are subject to a financing that requires railcars to bear certain marks.
ARL currently has access to certain intellectual property and confidential information necessary for ARL to perform its duties
as our lease fleet manager. After the consummation of the ARL Sale, although we have contractually agreed to certain
protections, we may not be able to prevent ARL, under the Buyer’s management, from improperly using our proprietary
information and intellectual property. If our intellectual property rights and confidential information are not adequately
protected, our competitors could commercialize our technologies and use our information to compete against us in the market,
which could result in a decrease in our sales and market share and could materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Exposure to fluctuations in commodity and energy prices or reduced demand for commodities may impact our results of operations.
Fluctuations in commodity or energy prices, including crude oil and gas prices, or reduced demand for commodities could negatively impact the activities of our customers resulting in a corresponding adverse effect on the demand for our products and services. These shifts in demand could affect our results of operations and could have an adverse effect on our profitability.
Prices for oil and gas are subject to large fluctuations in response to relatively minor changes in the supply of and demand for oil and gas, market uncertainty and a variety of other economic factors that are beyond our control. Worldwide economic, political and military events, including war, terrorist activity, events in the Middle East and initiatives by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have contributed, and are likely to continue to contribute, to price and volume volatility. Most recently, the increasing global supply of oil in conjunction with weakening demand from slowing economic growth in Europe and Asia has created downward pressure on crude oil prices. Changes in environmental or governmental regulations, pipeline capacity, the price of crude oil and gas and related products and other factors have reduced, and may continue to reduce demand for railcars in the energy transportation industry, including our primary railcar products, and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Demand for railcars that are used to transport ethanol and other renewable fuels may be affected by government subsidies and mandates, which may be enacted, changed or eliminated from time to time. It is possible that the reduction or elimination of current US mandates for ethanol blending in motor fuels could reduce the production of ethanol, which would reduce demand for portions of our tank car fleet and negatively impact our revenue and profitability.
We may be unable to re-market railcars from expiring leases on favorable terms or maintain railcars on lease at satisfactory terms due to decreases in customer demand, oversupply of railcars in the market, or other changes in supply and demand, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The failure to enter into commercially favorable railcar leases, re-lease or sell railcars upon lease expiration and successfully manage existing leases could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to re-lease or sell leased railcars profitably is dependent upon several factors, including the cost of and demand for leases or ownership of newer or specific use models, the availability in the market of other used or new railcars, and changes in applicable regulations that may impact continued use of older railcars. In addition, low demand for certain types of railcars in our fleet may make it more difficult to lease those railcars to new customers if they are returned at the end of their existing leases or following a customer default.
A downturn in the industries in which our lessees operate or the economy generally and decreased demand for railcars could also increase our exposure to re-marketing risk because lessees may demand reduced lease prices or shorter lease terms, which requires us to re-market leased railcars more frequently. Railcars that are returned by our customers often must undergo maintenance and service work before being leased to new customers, causing a delay in our ability to remarket such cars and
may require us to invest capital. Furthermore, the resale market for previously leased railcars has a limited number of potential buyers. Our inability to re-lease or sell leased railcars on favorable terms could result in lower lease rates, lower lease utilization percentages and reduced revenues.
Our manufacturer's warranties expose us to potentially significant claims and our business could be harmed if our products contain undetected defects or do not meet applicable specifications.
We may be subject to significant warranty claims in the future relating to workmanship and materials involving our current or future railcar or component product designs, including claims based on the Directive. Such claims may include multiple claims based on one defect repeated throughout our mass production process or claims for which the cost of repairing the defective component is highly disproportionate to the original cost of the part. These types of warranty claims could result in costly product recalls, significant repair costs and damage to our reputation, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Unresolved warranty claims could result in users of our products bringing legal actions against us.
Further, if our railcars or component products are defectively designed or manufactured, are subject to recall for performance or safety-related issues, contain defective components or are misused, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or others who may claim to be harmed by our products. Product liability claims could divert management's attention from our business, be expensive to defend and/or settle and result in sizable damage awards against us.
We operate in highly competitive industries and we may be unable to compete successfully, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We face intense competition in all geographic markets and in each area of our business. In our railcar manufacturing business we have five primary competitors. Any of these competitors may, from time to time, have greater resources than we do. Our current competitors have increased and may continue to increase their capacity in, or new competitors may enter into, the railcar markets in which we compete. Strong competition within the industry has led to pricing pressures and could limit our ability to maintain or increase prices or obtain better margins on our railcars for both direct sale and lease. If we produce any type of railcars other than what we currently produce, we will be competing with other manufacturers that may have more experience with that railcar type. Further, new competitors, or alliances among existing competitors, may emerge in the railcar or industrial components industries and rapidly gain market share. Customer selection of railcars for purchase or for lease may be driven by technological or price factors, and our competitors may provide or be able to provide more technologically advanced railcars or more attractive pricing and/or lease rates than we can provide. Such competitive factors may adversely affect our sales, utilization and/or lease rates, and consequently our revenues.
We also have intense competition in our railcar leasing business from railcar manufacturers, leasing companies, banks and other financial institutions. Some of this competition includes certain of our significant customers, including our affiliate, ARL. Subsequent to the ARL Sale, ARL will no longer be an affiliate of ARI but will continue to compete with us under the Buyer's ownership and management. Some of our railcar manufacturing competitors also produce railcars for use in their own railcar leasing fleets, competing directly with our railcar leasing business and with leasing companies. In connection with the re-leasing of railcars, we may encounter competition from, among other things, other railcars managed by ARL and other competitor railcar leasing companies.
We compete with numerous companies in our railcar services business, ranging from companies with greater resources than we have to small, local companies. In addition, new competitors, or alliances among existing competitors, may emerge, thereby intensifying the existing competition for our railcar services business.
Technological innovation by any of our existing competitors, or new competitors entering any of the markets in which we do business, could put us at a competitive disadvantage and could cause us to lose market share. Increased competition for our manufacturing, railcar leasing or railcar services businesses could result in price reductions, reduced margins and loss of market share, which could materially adversely affect our prospects, business, financial condition and results of operations.
The variable needs of our railcar customers, the timing of completion, customer acceptance and shipment of orders, as well as the mix of railcars for lease versus direct sale, all may cause our revenues and income from operations to vary substantially each quarter, which could result in significant fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results.
Our results of operations in any particular quarterly period may be significantly affected by the number and type of railcars manufactured and shipped in that period, which is impacted by customer needs that may vary greatly quarter to quarter and year to year. In addition, because revenues and earnings related to leased railcars are recognized over the life of the lease, our quarterly results may vary depending on the mix of lease versus direct sale railcars that we ship during a given period. Customers may decide to lease or buy our railcars based on many factors including tax and accounting considerations, interest
rates, and operational flexibility. We have no control over these external considerations and changes in these factors could impact demand for our railcars for sale or lease. The customer acceptance and title transfer or customer acceptance and shipment of our railcars determines when we record the revenues associated with our railcar sales or leases. Given this, the timing of customer acceptance and title transfer or customer acceptance and shipment of our railcars could cause fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results. The railroads could potentially go on strike or have other service interruptions, which could ultimately create a bottleneck and potentially cause us to slow down or halt our shipment and production schedules, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As a result of these fluctuations, we believe that comparisons of our sales and operating results between quarterly periods within the same year and between quarterly periods within different years may not be meaningful and, as such, these comparisons should not be relied upon as indicators of our future performance.
Our business is subject to various laws, rules and regulations and changes in legal and regulatory requirements applicable to us or the industries in which we operate may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business is subject to various laws, rules and regulations administered by authorities in jurisdictions in which we do business. In North America, our railcar fleet and manufacturing operations are subject to safety, operations, maintenance and mechanical standards, rules and regulations enforced by various federal and state agencies and industry organizations, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, Transport Canada, and the Association of American Railroads. State and provincial agencies regulate some health and safety matters related to rail operations not otherwise preempted by federal law. Our business and railcar fleet may be adversely impacted by new rules and regulations or changes to existing rules or regulations, which could require additional maintenance or substantial modification or refurbishment of our railcars or could make certain types of railcars inoperable or obsolete or require them to be phased out prior to their useful lives.
Derailments in North America of trains transporting crude oil have caused various U.S and Canadian regulatory agencies, industry organizations, as well as Class I Railroads and community governments, to focus attention on transportation by rail of flammable materials. Recent regulations related to rail transport of certain flammable liquids imposed by Canadian and United States regulators require, among other things, a new tank car design standard, a phase out of older DOT-111 cars that are not retrofitted, and a classification and testing program for unrefined petroleum based products, including crude oil. In addition, railroads and other organizations may impose requirements for railcars that are more stringent than, or in addition to, any governmental regulations that may be adopted. For example, additional laws and regulations have been proposed or adopted that may have a significant impact on railroad operations, including the implementation of “positive train control” (PTC) requirements. PTC is a collision avoidance technology intended to override engineer controlled locomotives and stop certain types of train accidents.
We are unable to predict what impact these or other regulatory changes may have, if any, on our business or the industry as a whole. These regulations and the industry’s responsiveness in complying with these regulations may materially impact the rail industry as a whole; railroad operations; older and newer railcars that meet or exceed currently mandated standards; future railcar specifications; and the capability of the North American railcar manufacturing, repair and maintenance infrastructure to implement mandated retrofit configurations or new construction. As a result of such regulations, certain of our railcars could be deemed unfit for further commercial use (which would diminish or eliminate future revenue generated from leased railcars) and/or require retrofits or modifications. The costs associated with any required retrofits or modifications could be substantial. While certain regulatory changes could result in increased demand for refurbishment and/or new railcar manufacturing activity, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected if we are unable to adapt our business to changing regulations or railroad standards, source critical components and raw materials such as steel in a timely manner and at reasonable cost, or at all, and/or take advantage of any increase in demand for our products and services. We cannot assure that costs incurred to comply with any new standards and regulations will not be material to our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Regulatory changes related to tank railcars in North America may impact future new railcar production rates and orders from our customers, as well as retrofit and maintenance work to existing railcars. In response to current regulations, we invested capital to further expand our manufacturing flexibility and repair capacity to address the needs of the industry. We cannot assure you that any increased manufacturing flexibility or repair capacity will be sufficient to meet the demands of the industry. Similarly, we cannot assure you of the impact of the regulatory changes affecting the North American railcar industry or our business.
If we face labor shortages or increased labor costs, our growth and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We depend on skilled labor in our manufacturing and other businesses. Due to the competitive nature of the labor markets in which we operate and the cyclical nature of the railcar industry, the resulting employment cycle increases our risk of not being able to retain, recruit and train the personnel we require, particularly when the economy expands, production rates are high or competition for such skilled labor increases. Our inability to recruit, retain and train adequate numbers of qualified personnel on a timely basis could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Volatility in the global financial markets may adversely affect our customers and suppliers resulting in adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
During periods of volatility in the global financial markets, certain of our customers could delay or otherwise reduce their purchases of railcars and other products and services or could attempt to cancel, terminate, delay or renegotiate orders for sale or ongoing leases. If volatile conditions in the global credit markets prevent our customers' access to credit, order volumes may decrease or customers may default on payments owed to us. Some of the end users of our railcars acquire them through leasing arrangements with our leasing company customers. Economic conditions that result in higher interest rates may result in stricter borrowing conditions that could increase the cost of, or potentially deter or delay, new leasing arrangements. These factors may cause our customers to purchase or lease fewer railcars, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If customers attempt to cancel, terminate, delay or renegotiate purchase orders or lease contracts, we may experience increased enforcement costs, including for litigation.
The railcars in our lease fleet consist of tank railcars and hopper railcars. The lessees of such types of railcars have historically been concentrated for use in certain industries and for certain products and our lessees generally reflect such industry and product concentrations. Consequently, any significant economic downturn in these industries or product markets could have a material adverse effect on the creditworthiness of the lessees and on the ability of such lessees to perform under the leases, which may impact our ability to re-lease railcars to those lessees or to other potential lessees with a need for railcars of the types we operate, reduce our revenue, divert management's attention or limit our ability to further attract financing to add liquidity in the future.
If our suppliers face challenges obtaining credit, selling their products, or otherwise operating their businesses, the supply of materials we purchase from them to manufacture our products may be interrupted. Any of these conditions or events could result in reductions in our revenues, increased price competition, or increased operating costs, which could adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
We depend upon a small number of customers that represent a large percentage of our revenues. The loss of any single significant customer, a reduction in sales to any such significant customer or any such significant customer's inability to pay us in a timely manner could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Railcars are typically sold pursuant to large, periodic orders, and therefore, a limited number of customers typically represent a significant percentage of our revenue in any given year. The loss of any significant portion of our sales to any major customer, the loss of a single major customer or a material adverse change in the financial condition of any one of our major customers could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If one of our significant customers was unable to pay due to financial condition, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot provide any assurances that we will continue to provide railcar repair services to ARL after the consummation of the ARL Sale, once ARL is under the Buyer's management.
The cost of raw materials and components that we use in our manufacturing operations, particularly steel, is subject to escalation and surcharges and could increase. Any increase in these costs or delivery delays of these raw materials could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The cost of raw materials, including steel, and components used in the production of our railcars, represents a significant amount of our direct manufacturing costs per railcar. We generally include provisions in our railcar manufacturing contracts that allow us to adjust prices as a result of increases and decreases in the cost of certain raw materials and components. The number of customers to which we are not able to pass on price increases may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our operating margins and cash flows. If we are not able to pass on price increases to our customers, we may lose railcar orders or enter into contracts with less favorable contract terms, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any fluctuations in the price or availability of steel, or any other material or component used in the production of our railcars or our railcar or industrial components, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such price increases could reduce demand for our railcars or component products. Deliveries of raw materials and components may also fluctuate depending on various factors including supply and
demand for the raw material or component, or governmental regulation relating to the raw material or component, including regulation relating to importation.
Fluctuations in the supply of components and raw materials we use in manufacturing railcars, which are often only available from a limited number of suppliers, could cause production delays or reductions in the number of railcars we manufacture, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our railcar manufacturing business depends on the adequate supply of numerous railcar components, such as railcar wheels, axles, brakes, bearings, yokes, sideframes, bolsters and other heavy castings and raw materials, such as steel. Some of these components and raw materials are only available from a limited number of domestic suppliers. Strong demand can cause industry-wide shortages of many critical components and raw materials as reliable suppliers could reach capacity production levels. Supply constraints in our industry are exacerbated because, although multiple suppliers may produce certain components, railcar manufacturing regulations and the physical capabilities of manufacturing facilities restrict the types and sizes of components and raw materials that manufacturers may use.
In addition, we do not carry significant inventories of certain components and procure most of our components on an as needed basis. In the event that our suppliers of railcar components and raw materials were to stop or reduce the production of railcar components and raw materials that we use, or refuse to do business with us for any reason, our business would be disrupted. Our inability to obtain components and raw materials in required quantities or of acceptable quality could result in significant delays or reductions in railcar shipments and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on a small number of suppliers for the materials we purchase for our business. If any of our significant suppliers of raw materials and components were to shut down operations, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected as we may incur substantial delays and significant expense in finding alternative sources. The quality and reliability of alternative sources may not be the same and these alternative sources may charge significantly higher prices.
Companies affiliated with Mr. Carl Icahn are important to our business.
We manufacture railcars and railcar components for, lease railcars to, and provide railcar services to companies affiliated with Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP. We are currently subject to agreements, and may enter into additional agreements, with certain of these affiliates that are important to our business. To the extent our relationships with affiliates of Mr. Carl Icahn change due to the sale of his interest in us, such affiliates or otherwise, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Affiliates of Mr. Carl Icahn accounted for approximately
4.3%
, 33.1% and 36.1% of our consolidated revenues in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. This revenue is primarily attributable to railcar services provided to ARL for 2016 and the sale of railcars to ARL for 2015 and 2014. In the past, ARL has purchased all of its railcars from us, but has not been required to do so. As of December 31, 2016, we did not have any orders in our backlog from ARL. Upon consummation of the ARL Sale, ARL will no longer be affiliated with us or Mr. Carl Icahn, ARL will have no obligation to purchase our railcars or services and we cannot assure you that we will receive any revenues from ARL in the future. This revenue also has been and could continue to be generated from a purchasing and engineering services agreement and license with ACF, under which we provide purchasing support and engineering services to ACF in connection with ACF's manufacture and sale of certain tank railcars at its facility. Additionally, we have entered into a repair services and support agreement and license with ACF, under which we provide certain sales and administrative and technical services, materials and purchasing support and engineering services to ACF to provide repair and retrofit services. We also have entered into a parts purchasing and sale agreement and license with ACF, under which we from time to time, purchase from and sell to ACF certain parts for railcars. To the extent our relationships with ARL, ACF or Mr. Carl Icahn change, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We currently operate our leasing business under lease management agreements with ARL through which ARL markets our railcars for sale or lease and acts as our manager to lease railcars on our behalf for a fee. ARL also leases railcars on behalf of itself, its subsidiaries and other third parties, and therefore markets our railcars and railcars owned by others to the same customer base. Our management agreements with ARL contain provisions that require ARL to treat railcars owned by us and our subsidiaries in the same manner as railcars owned by ARL or other third parties for which ARL serves as manager. However, ARL may provide a leasing customer with railcars owned by others, instead of our railcars, based on a number of factors, such as customers' timing or geographic needs or other specifications. We intend to manage our own leasing business after the ARL Sale is completed.
Mr. Carl Icahn exerts significant influence over us and his interests may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.
Mr. Carl Icahn currently controls approximately
62%
of the voting power of our common stock, through IELP, and is able to control or exert substantial influence over us, including controlling the election of our directors and most matters requiring board or stockholder approval, including business strategies, mergers, business combinations, acquisitions or dispositions of significant assets, issuances of common stock, incurrence of debt or other financing and the payment of dividends. The existence of a controlling stockholder may have the effect of making it difficult for, or may discourage or delay, a third party from seeking to acquire a majority of our outstanding common stock, or a significant amount of our assets, which could adversely affect the market price of our stock.
As disclosed by a Schedule 13D filed on August 14, 2015, Mr. Carl Icahn and the Reporting Persons listed therein do not intend to sell their respective shares pursuant to our Stock Repurchase Program and, accordingly, the percentage of our shares beneficially owned by the Reporting Persons has increased and may continue to increase during the Stock Repurchase Program, thus further increasing Mr. Carl Icahn's control and influence over us.
Mr. Carl Icahn owns, controls and has an interest in a wide array of companies, some of which, such as ARL and ACF as described above, may compete directly or indirectly with us. As a result, his interests may not always be consistent with our interests or the interests of our other stockholders. For example, ARL competes directly with us and with some of our customers in the railcar leasing business. ACF has also previously manufactured railcars for us and under a purchasing and engineering services agreement and license has been manufacturing and selling tank railcars with engineering, purchasing and design support from us. Mr. Carl Icahn and entities controlled by him may also pursue acquisitions or business opportunities that may be in competition with or complementary to our business. Our articles of incorporation allow Mr. Carl Icahn, entities controlled by him, and any director, officer, member, partner, stockholder or employee of Mr. Carl Icahn or entities controlled by him, to take advantage of such corporate opportunities without first presenting such opportunities to us, unless such opportunities are expressly offered to any such party solely in, and as a direct result of, his or her capacity as our director, officer or employee. As a result, corporate opportunities that may benefit us may not be available to us in a timely manner, or at all. To the extent that conflicts of interest may arise among us, Mr. Carl Icahn and his affiliates, those conflicts may be resolved in a manner adverse to us or you.
Our investment in our lease fleet may use significant amounts of cash, which may require us to secure additional capital and we may be unable to arrange capital on favorable terms, or at all.
We use existing cash and cash generated through lease fleet financings to manufacture railcars we lease to customers, while cash from lease revenues is received over the term of the applicable lease. Depending upon the number of railcars that we lease and the amount of cash used in other operations, our cash balances and our availability under any of our lease fleet financings could be depleted, requiring us to seek additional capital. We rely on banks and capital markets to fund our lease fleet financings. These markets may experience high levels of volatility and access to capital may be limited for extended periods of time. In addition to conditions in the capital markets, changes in our financial performance or credit ratings or ratings outlook, as determined by rating agencies, could cause us to incur increased borrowing costs or to have greater difficulty accessing public and private markets for debt. Further, changes in interest rates could make it more difficult for us to incur additional debt or could impact the costs of our current financing facilities. Our inability to secure additional capital, on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, may limit our ability to support operations, maintain or expand our existing business, or take advantage of new business opportunities. We could also experience defaults on leases that could further constrain cash, impact our ability to re-lease railcars, reduce our revenues, divert management's attention or limit our ability to further attract financing to add liquidity in the future.
Changes in railroad efficiency may adversely affect demand for our railcars.
Regulations and railroad infrastructure investments that increase the speed at which railroads can operate trains may reduce the number of railcars needed for railroads to haul the same amount of cargo. Conversely, speed restrictions imposed by regulations may also have an adverse impact on demand for tank railcars or other types of freight railcars as other forms of transportation may become more effective. While rail velocity is affected by many factors including general economic conditions, weather conditions, railroad mergers, and increases in rail traffic, and has increased since the adoption of regulations in 2015, in some circumstances these factors may significantly reduce overall velocity on congested rail networks. This in turn could lead to an increase in the cost of rail freight transportation and impact availability, making rail less competitive compared to alternative modes of freight transportation. In each case, these changes could lead to reduced demand for our products and negatively impact our revenues and results of operations.
Train derailments or other accidents involving our products could subject us to legal claims that may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We manufacture railcars for our customers to transport a variety of commodities, including railcars that transport hazardous materials such as crude oil and other petroleum products. We also manufacture railcar components, as well as industrial components for use in several markets, including the trucking, construction, mining and oil and gas exploration markets. We could be subject to various legal claims, including claims for negligence, personal injury, physical damage and product liability, as well as potential penalties and liability under environmental laws and regulations, in the event of a train derailment or other accident involving our products or services. If we become subject to any such claims and are unable successfully to resolve them, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Increasing insurance claims and expenses could lower profitability and increase business risk.
The nature of our business subjects us to product liability, property damage, and personal injury claims, especially in connection with the manufacture, repair or other servicing of products or components that are used in the transport or handling of hazardous, toxic, or volatile materials. We maintain reserves for reasonably estimable liability claims and liability insurance coverage at levels based upon commercial norms in the industries in which we operate and our historical claims experience. There is no guarantee that cost-effective insurance will consistently be available to us. Over the last several years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for many companies operating in our industries. Increased insurance premiums may further increase our insurance expense as coverages expire or cause us to raise our self-insured retention. If the number or severity of claims within our self-insured retention increases, we could suffer costs in excess of our reserves. An unusually large liability claim or a series of claims based on a failure repeated throughout our mass production process may exceed our insurance coverage or result in direct damages if we were unable or elected not to insure against certain hazards because of high premiums or other reasons. In addition, the availability of, and our ability to collect on, insurance coverage is often subject to factors beyond our control. Moreover, any accident or incident involving us, even if we are fully insured or not held to be liable, could negatively affect our reputation among customers and the public, thereby making it more difficult for us to compete effectively, and could materially adversely affect the cost and availability of insurance in the future.
Litigation claims could increase our costs and weaken our financial condition.
We are currently, and may from time to time be, involved in various claims or legal proceedings arising out of our operations. The nature of our businesses and assets expose us to the potential for claims and litigation related to personal injury, property damage, environmental claims, regulatory claims, contractual disputes and various other matters. In particular, railcars we manufacture and lease will be used in a variety of manners, which may include carrying hazardous, flammable, and/or corrosive materials. An accident involving a railcar carrying such materials could lead to litigation and subject us to significant liability, particularly where the accident involves serious personal injury or loss of life. Our railcars, as well as our railcar and industrial components, are subject to risks of breakdowns, malfunctions, casualty and other negative events and it is possible that claims for personal injury, loss of life, property damage, business losses and other liability arising out of these or other types of incidents will be made against us. Additionally, in our normal course of business from time to time we enter into contracts with third parties that may lead to contractual disputes. Our failure to manufacture and maintain railcars in compliance with governmental regulations and industry rules could also expose us to fines and claims. Adverse outcomes in some or all of these matters could result in judgments against us for significant monetary damages that could increase our costs and weaken our financial condition. We seek contractual recourse and indemnification in the ordinary course of business, maintain reserves for reasonably estimable liabilities, and purchase liability insurance at coverage levels based upon commercial norms in our industries in an effort to mitigate our liability exposure. Nevertheless, our reserves may be inadequate to cover the uninsured portion of claims or judgments. Any such claims or judgments could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The success of our railcar leasing business is dependent, in part, on our lessees performing their obligations.
The ability of each lessee to perform its obligations under a lease will depend primarily on such lessee's financial condition, as well as other various factors. The financial condition of a lessee may be affected by various factors beyond our control, including, but not limited to, competition, operating costs, general economic conditions and environmental and other governmental regulation of or affecting the lessee's industry. High default rates on leases could increase the portion of railcars that may need to be remarketed after they are repossessed from defaulting lessees, impact our ability to re-lease railcars to lessees, reduce our revenues, divert management's attention or limit our ability to further attract financing to add liquidity in the future. There can be no assurance that the historical default experience with respect to our lease fleet will continue in the future.
Our failure to comply with laws and regulations imposed by federal, state, local and foreign agencies could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to access capital.
The industries in which we operate are subject to extensive regulation by governmental, regulatory and industry authorities and by federal, state, local and foreign agencies. The risks of substantial costs and liabilities related to compliance with these laws and regulations are an inherent part of our business. Despite our intention to comply with these laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so at all times and compliance may prove to be more costly and limiting than we currently anticipate and compliance requirements could increase in future years. These laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and may become more stringent over time, which could impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to access capital. If we fail to comply with the requirements and regulations of these agencies that impact our manufacturing, other processes and reporting requirements, we may face sanctions and penalties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to access capital.
We are subject to a variety of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and the cost of complying, or our failure to comply, with such requirements could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations.
We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations relating to the release or discharge of materials into the environment; the management, use, processing, handling, storage, transport or disposal of hazardous materials; or otherwise relating to the protection of public and employee health, safety and the environment. These laws and regulations expose us to liability for the environmental condition of our current or formerly owned or operated facilities, and may expose us to liability for the conduct of others or for our actions that complied with all applicable laws at the time these actions were taken. They may also expose us to liability for claims of personal injury or property damage related to alleged exposure to hazardous or toxic materials on our properties or as a result of a spill or discharge of material from a railcar we own. Despite our intention to be in compliance, we cannot guarantee that we will at all times comply with such requirements. The cost of complying with these requirements may also increase substantially in future years. If we violate or fail to comply with these requirements, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators. In addition, these requirements are complex, change frequently and may become more stringent over time, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our failure to maintain and comply with environmental permits that we are required to maintain could result in fines, penalties or other sanctions and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Future events, such as new environmental regulations, changes in or modified interpretations of existing laws and regulations or enforcement policies, newly discovered information or further investigation or evaluation of the potential health hazards of products or business activities, may give rise to additional compliance and other costs that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Uncertainty surrounding acceptance of our new product offerings by our customers, and costs associated with those new offerings, could materially adversely affect our business.
Our strategy depends in part on our continued development and sale of new products, particularly new railcar designs, in order to expand or maintain our market share in our current and new markets. Any new or modified product design that we develop may not gain widespread acceptance in the marketplace and any such product may not be able to compete successfully with existing or new product designs that our competitors may have. Furthermore, we may experience significant initial costs of production of new products, particularly railcar products, related to training, labor and operating inefficiencies. To the extent that the total costs of production significantly exceed our anticipated costs of production, we may incur losses on the sale of any new products.
Equipment failures, delays in deliveries or extensive damage to our facilities, particularly our railcar manufacturing plants in Paragould or Marmaduke, Arkansas, could lead to production or service curtailments or shutdowns.
An interruption in manufacturing capabilities at our railcar plants in Paragould or Marmaduke or at any of our manufacturing facilities, whether as a result of equipment failure or any other reason, could reduce, prevent or delay production of our railcars or railcar and industrial components, which could alter the scheduled delivery dates to our customers and affect our production schedule. This could result in the delay or termination of orders, the loss of future sales and a negative impact to our reputation with our customers and in the railcar industry, all of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
All of our facilities and equipment are subject to the risk of catastrophic loss due to unanticipated events, such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, tornados, hurricanes or weather conditions. If there is a natural disaster or other serious disruption at any of our facilities, we may experience plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production as a result of
equipment failures, loss of power, delays in equipment deliveries, or extensive damage to any of our facilities, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Additionally, our insurance coverage may not adequately compensate us for losses incurred as a result of natural or other disasters.
Our mobile units and mini shop facilities may expose us to additional risks that may materially adversely affect our business.
Our mobile units and mini shop repair facilities are available to assist customers in quickly resolving railcar maintenance issues and services may be performed on a customer's property, thereby increasing our susceptibility to liability. Additionally, the resources available to employees to assist in providing services out of these facilities are less than what is available at a full repair facility. The effects of these risks may, individually or in the aggregate, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our failure to complete capital expenditure projects on time and within budget, or the failure of these projects to operate as anticipated could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our capital expenditure projects are subject to a number of risks and contingencies over which we may have little control and that may adversely affect the cost and timing of the completion of those projects, or the capacity or efficiencies of those projects once completed. If these capital expenditure projects do not achieve the results anticipated, we may not be able to satisfy our operational goals on a timely basis, if at all. If we are unable to complete such capital expenditure projects on time or within budget, or if those projects do not achieve the capacity or efficiencies anticipated, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Our relationships with our joint ventures could be unsuccessful, which could materially adversely affect our business.
We have entered into joint venture agreements with other companies to increase our sourcing alternatives and reduce costs. We also may seek to expand our relationships or enter into new agreements with other companies. In addition, we may experience managerial or other conflicts with our joint venture partners. If our joint venture partners are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations or if these relationships are otherwise not successful in the future, our manufacturing costs could increase, we could encounter production disruptions, growth opportunities could fail to materialize, or we could be required to fund such joint ventures in amounts significantly greater than initially anticipated, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If any of our joint ventures generate significant losses, it could adversely affect our results of operations. For example, if our Axis joint venture is unable to operate as anticipated, incurs significant losses or otherwise is unable to honor its obligation to us under the Axis loan, our financial results or financial position could be materially adversely affected. In addition, any fluctuation in the price or availability of castings while the Ohio Castings plant is idled could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The level of our reported railcar backlog may not necessarily indicate what our future revenues will be and our actual revenues may fall short of the estimated revenue value attributed to our railcar backlog.
We define backlog as the number of railcars to which our customers have committed in writing to purchase or lease from us that have not been shipped. The estimated backlog value in dollars is the anticipated revenue on the railcars included in the backlog for purchase and the estimated fair market value of the railcars included in the backlog for lease, though actual revenues for these leases are recognized pursuant to the terms of each lease. Our competitors may not define railcar backlog in the same manner as we do, which could make comparisons of our railcar backlog with theirs misleading. Customer orders may be subject to requests for delays in deliveries, inspection rights and other customary industry terms and conditions, which could prevent or delay our railcar backlog from being converted into revenues. Further, especially during economic downturns or industry-specific downturns, some of our customers may attempt to cancel or modify their contracts even if not permitted to do so under the contract. Consequently, and we may not be able to recover all revenue or earnings lost in the event of a breach of contract or if we agree to a customer accommodation. Our reported railcar backlog may not be converted into revenues in any particular period, if at all, and the actual revenues from such sales may not equal our reported estimates of railcar backlog value.
We may pursue strategic opportunities, including new joint ventures, acquisitions, new business endeavors or the sale of all or a portion of our business or assets, that involve inherent risks, any of which may cause us not to realize anticipated benefits and we may have difficulty integrating the operations of any joint ventures that we form, companies that we acquire or new business endeavors, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations.
We may not be able to successfully identify suitable joint venture, acquisition, new business endeavor or sale opportunities or complete any particular joint venture, acquisition, business combination, new business endeavor, sale, or other transaction on acceptable terms. Our identification of suitable joint venture opportunities, acquisition candidates, new business endeavors or buyers and the integration of new and acquired business operations involve risks inherent in assessing the values, strengths, weaknesses, risks and profitability of these opportunities. This includes their effects on our business, diversion of our management's attention and risks associated with unanticipated problems or unforeseen liabilities. These issues may require significant financial resources that could otherwise be used for the ongoing development of our current operations.
The difficulties of integration may be increased by the necessity of coordinating geographically dispersed organizations, integrating personnel with disparate business backgrounds and combining different corporate cultures. These difficulties could be further increased to the extent we pursue opportunities internationally or in new markets where we do not have significant experience. In addition, we may not be effective in retaining key employees or customers of the combined businesses. We may face integration issues pertaining to the internal controls and operations functions of the acquired companies and we may not realize cost efficiencies or synergies that we anticipated when selecting our acquisition or sale candidates. Any of these items could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our failure to identify suitable joint ventures, acquisition opportunities, new business endeavors or sales may restrict our ability to grow our business. If we are successful in pursuing such opportunities, we may be required to expend significant funds, incur additional debt, issue additional securities or sell our business or assets, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and be dilutive to our stockholders. If we spend significant funds, incur additional debt or dispense with assets or stock, our ability to obtain financing for working capital or other purposes could decline and we may be more vulnerable to economic downturns and competitive pressures.
The price of our common stock is subject to volatility.
The market price for our common stock has varied between a high closing sales price of $59.52 per share and a low closing sales price of $33.56 per share in the past twenty-four months as of December 31, 2016. This volatility may affect the price at which our common stock could be sold. In addition, the broader stock market has experienced price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has affected the market prices of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to their operating performance and may adversely affect the price of our common stock. The price for our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile and subject to price and volume fluctuations in response to market and other factors, including the other factors discussed in these risk factors.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of their stock, many companies have been the subject of securities class action litigation. If we became involved in securities class action litigation in the future, it could result in substantial costs and diversion of our management's attention and resources and could harm our stock price, business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Various other factors could cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate substantially, including financial market and general economic changes, changes in governmental regulation, significant railcar industry announcements or developments, the introduction of new products or technologies by us or our competitors, our Stock Repurchase Program, and changes in other conditions or trends in our industry or in the markets of any of our significant customers.
Other factors that could cause our stock's price to fluctuate could be actual or anticipated variations in our or our competitors' quarterly or annual financial results or other significant press releases from us or our competitors, financial results failing to meet expectations of analysts or investors, including the level of our backlog and number of orders received during the period, changes in securities analysts' estimates of our future performance or of that of our competitors and the general health and outlook of our industry.
Our Stock Repurchase Program could affect the price of our common stock and increase volatility and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock.
On July 28, 2015 our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of our outstanding common stock. The Stock Repurchase Program will end upon the earlier of the date on which it is terminated by the Board or when all authorized repurchases are completed. The timing and amount of stock repurchases, if any, will be determined based upon our evaluation of market conditions and other factors. The Stock Repurchase Program may be suspended, modified or discontinued
at any time and we have no obligation to repurchase any amount of our common stock under the Stock Repurchase Program.
Repurchases pursuant to our Stock Repurchase Program could affect our stock price and increase the volatility of our common stock. The existence of a stock repurchase program could also cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Although our Stock Repurchase Program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, we cannot assure this will occur. Further, short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the program's effectiveness. Under the Stock Repurchase Program, 760,653 shares were repurchased during 2016, at a cost of $28.6 million.
Repurchases pursuant to our Stock Repurchase Program could also impact the relative percentage interests of our stockholders and could cause a stockholder to become subject to additional reporting requirements under SEC rules and regulations or allow a stockholder to exert additional control over us.
Risks related to our activities or potential activities outside of the U.S. and any potential expansion into new geographic markets could adversely affect our results of operations.
Conducting business outside the U.S. subjects us to various risks, including changing economic, legal and political conditions, work stoppages, exchange controls, currency fluctuations, terrorist activities directed at U.S. companies, armed conflicts and unexpected changes in the U.S. and the laws of other countries relating to tariffs, trade restrictions, transportation regulations, foreign investments and taxation. Further, anti-corruption laws in the U.S. and in some foreign countries could conflict with certain local customs and practices and any failure to comply with laws governing international business practices may result in substantial penalties and fines. Some foreign countries in which we operate have regulatory authorities that regulate railroad safety, railcar design and railcar component part design, performance and manufacturing.
In addition, changes in regulatory requirements, tariffs and other trade barriers, more stringent rules relating to labor or the environment, adverse tax consequences and price exchange controls could make the manufacturing and distribution of our products internationally more difficult. The failure to comply with laws governing international business practices may result in substantial penalties and fines. Any international expansion or acquisition that we undertake could heighten these risks related to operating outside of the U.S.
If we lose any of our executive officers or key employees, our operations and ability to manage the day-to-day aspects of our business could be materially adversely affected.
Our future performance will substantially depend on our ability to retain and motivate our executive officers and key employees, both individually and as a group. If we lose any of our executive officers or key employees, who have many years of experience with our company and within the railcar industry and other manufacturing industries, or are unable to recruit qualified personnel, including personnel to manage our railcar leasing business, our ability to manage the day-to-day aspects of our business could be materially adversely affected. The loss of the services of one or more of our executive officers or key employees, who also have strong personal ties with customers and suppliers, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not currently maintain “key person” life insurance. Further, we do not have employment contracts with all of our executive officers and key employees.
Our integration of our new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system could negatively impact our business.
During the third quarter of 2015, we implemented an ERP system for our manufacturing, railcar leasing and corporate segments that supports substantially all of our operating and financial functions. We implemented this ERP system for our railcar services segment during the second quarter of 2016. We experienced delays with this project and have terminated and filed suit against a systems implementer we previously hired to implement this system. Although we hired a new systems implementer and the ERP system has been fully implemented, we could experience unforeseen issues, including compatibility issues, training requirements and other integration challenges and delays. Additionally, a significant problem with the integration with other systems or ongoing management of an ERP system and related systems could have an adverse effect on our ability to generate and interpret accurate management and financial reports and other information on a timely basis, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial reporting system and internal controls and adversely affect our ability to manage our business or comply with various regulations.
Some of our railcar services and component manufacturing employees belong to labor unions and strikes or work stoppages by them or unions formed by some or all of our other employees in the future could materially adversely affect our operations.
As of December 31, 2016, the employees at our sites that were party to collective bargaining agreements represent, in the aggregate, approximately
7.7%
of our total workforce. Disputes with regard to the terms of these agreements or our potential
inability to negotiate acceptable contracts with these unions in the future could result in, among other things, strikes, work stoppages or other slowdowns by the affected workers. We cannot guarantee that our relations with our union workforce will remain positive nor can we guarantee that union organizers will not succeed in future attempts to organize our railcar manufacturing employees or employees at our other facilities. If our workers were to engage in a strike, work stoppage or other slowdown, other employees were to become unionized or the terms and conditions in future labor agreements were renegotiated, we could experience a significant disruption of our operations and higher ongoing labor costs. In addition, we could face higher labor costs in the future as a result of severance or other charges associated with layoffs, shutdowns or reductions in the size and scope of our operations.
Our indebtedness could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and prevent us from fulfilling our indebtedness obligations.
As of December 31, 2016, our total debt was
$571.0 million
, consisting of borrowings under our lease fleet financings. In February 2016, we repaid amounts outstanding under our revolving loan in full and as of the date of this report, we have borrowing availability of $200.0 million under this facility.
Our indebtedness could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, it could:
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increase our vulnerability to general economic and industry conditions;
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require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments of our indebtedness, which would reduce the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, expansion efforts and other general corporate purposes;
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limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate, including by restricting our ability to manage our own lease fleet in connection with the ARL Sale;
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place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt; and
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limit, among other things, our ability to borrow additional funds for working capital, capital expenditures, general corporate purposes or acquisitions.
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Our inability to comply with covenants in place or our inability to make the required principal and interest payments may cause an event of default, which could have a substantial adverse impact to our business, financial condition and results of operation. In the event of a default on our lease fleet financings, the debtors may foreclose on all or a portion of the fleet of railcars and related leases used to secure the financing. Such foreclosure, if a significant number of railcars or related leases are affected, could result in the loss of a significant amount of our assets and adversely affect revenues.
Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Longtrain Leasing III, LLC's (LLIII), lease fleet financing is an obligation of LLIII, is generally non-recourse to ARI, and is secured by a first lien on the subject assets of LLIII consisting of railcars, railcar leases, receivables and related assets, subject to limited exceptions.
Despite our indebtedness, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt, as may our subsidiaries, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our indebtedness.
Despite our indebtedness, we may be able to incur future indebtedness, including secured indebtedness, and this debt could be substantial. If new debt is added to our or our subsidiaries' current debt levels, the related risks that we or they now face could be magnified.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our obligations and we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures, strategic transactions, joint venture capital requirements or expansion efforts will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.
Our business may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and there can be no assurance that future borrowings will be available to us in amounts sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness as such indebtedness matures and to fund our other liquidity needs, or at all. If this is the case, we will need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity, and we cannot be certain that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We might have to adopt one or more alternatives, such as reducing or delaying planned expenses and capital expenditures, selling assets, restructuring debt, or obtaining additional equity or debt financing. These financing strategies may
not be implemented on satisfactory terms, if at all. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness or obtain additional financing and to do so on commercially reasonable terms will depend on our financial condition at the time, restrictions in any agreements governing our indebtedness and other factors, including the condition of the financial markets and the railcar industry.
If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and additional borrowings, refinancing or proceeds of asset sales are not available to us, we may not have sufficient cash to enable us to meet all of our obligations.
If ACF does not, or is unable to, honor its remedial or indemnity obligations to us regarding environmental matters, such environmental matters could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Certain real properties we acquired from ACF in 1994 had been involved in investigation and remediation activities to address contamination both before and after their transfer to ARI. ACF is an affiliate of Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP. Substantially all of the issues identified with respect to these properties relate to the use of these properties prior to their transfer to us by ACF and for which ACF has retained liability for environmental contamination that may have existed at the time of transfer to us. ACF has also agreed to indemnify us for any cost that might be incurred with those existing issues. As of the date of this report, we do not believe we will incur material costs in connection with activities relating to these properties, but we cannot assure that this will be the case. If ACF fails to honor its obligations to us, we could be responsible for the cost of any additional investigation or remediation activities relating to these properties that may be required. These additional costs could be material or could interfere with the operation of our business. Any environmental liabilities we may incur that are not covered by adequate insurance or indemnification will also increase our costs and have a negative impact on our profitability.
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and prevent its improper use by third parties, our ability to compete in the market may be harmed.
Various patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark laws afford only limited protection and may not prevent our competitors from duplicating our products or gaining access to our proprietary information and technology. These means also may not permit us to gain or maintain a competitive advantage. To the extent we expand internationally, we become subject to the risk that foreign intellectual property laws will not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as intellectual property laws in the U.S.
Any of our patents may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or rendered unenforceable. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful should one or more of our patents be challenged for any reason. If our patent claims are rendered invalid or unenforceable, or narrowed in scope, the patent coverage afforded our products could be impaired, which could significantly impede our ability to market our products, negatively affect our competitive position and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our pending or future patent applications may not result in an issued patent and, if patents are issued to us, such patents may not provide meaningful protection against competitors or against competitive technologies. The U.S. federal courts may invalidate our patents or find them unenforceable. Competitors may also be able to design around our patents. Other parties may develop and obtain patent protection for more effective technologies, designs or methods. If these developments were to occur, it could have an adverse effect on our sales. If our intellectual property rights are not adequately protected we may not be able to commercialize our technologies, products or services and our competitors could commercialize our technologies, which could result in a decrease in our sales and market share and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our products could infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may lead to litigation that could itself be costly, result in the payment of substantial damages or royalties, and prevent us from using technology that is essential to our products.
We cannot guarantee that our products, manufacturing processes or other methods do not infringe the patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties. Infringement and other intellectual property claims and proceedings brought against us, whether successful or not, could result in substantial costs and harm our reputation. Such claims and proceedings can also distract and divert our management and key personnel from other tasks important to the success of our business. In addition, intellectual property litigation or claims could force us to do one or more of the following:
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cease selling or using any of our products that incorporate the asserted intellectual property, which would adversely affect our revenues;
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pay substantial damages for past use of the asserted intellectual property;
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obtain a license from the holder of the asserted intellectual property, which license may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all; and
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redesign or rename, in the case of trademark claims, our products to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may be costly and time-consuming, if possible at all.
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In the event of an adverse determination in an intellectual property suit or proceeding, or our failure to license essential technology, our sales could be harmed and our costs could increase, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our investment activities are subject to risks that could materially adversely affect our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
From time to time, we may invest in marketable securities, or derivatives thereof, including higher risk equity securities and high yield debt instruments. These securities are subject to general credit, liquidity, market risks and interest rate fluctuations that have affected various sectors of the financial markets and in the past have caused overall tightening of the credit markets and declines in the stock markets. The market risks associated with any investments we may make could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
Our investments at any given time also may become highly concentrated within a particular company, industry, asset category, trading style or financial or economic market. In that event, our investment portfolio will be more susceptible to fluctuations in value resulting from adverse economic conditions affecting the performance of that particular company, industry, asset category, trading style or economic market than a less concentrated portfolio would be. As a result, our investment portfolio could become concentrated and its aggregate return may be volatile and may be affected substantially by the performance of only one or a few holdings. For reasons not necessarily attributable to any of the risks set forth in this report (for example, supply/demand imbalances or other market forces), the prices of the securities in which we invest may decline substantially.
Changes in assumptions or investment performance related to pension plans that we sponsor could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are responsible for making funding contributions to two frozen pension plans and are liable for any unfunded liabilities that may exist should any of our plans be terminated. Our liability and resulting costs for these plans may increase or decrease based upon a number of factors, including actuarial assumptions used, the discount rate used in calculating the present value of future liabilities, and investment performance, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. There is no assurance that interest rates will remain constant or that our pension fund assets can earn the expected rate of return, and our actual experience may be significantly different. Our pension expenses and funding may also be greater than we currently anticipate if our assumptions regarding plan earnings and expenses turn out to be incorrect.
We may be required to reduce the value of our inventory, long-lived assets and/or goodwill, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be required to reduce inventory carrying values using the lower of cost or market approach in the future due to a decline in market conditions in the industries in which we operate, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Future events, such as a weak economic environment or challenging market conditions, new or modified laws and regulations affecting our railcars, and events related to particular customers or railcar types could cause us to conclude that impairment indicators exist and that goodwill associated with our acquired businesses is impaired. Any resulting impairment loss related to reductions in the value of our inventory, long-lived assets or our goodwill could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We review long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the long-lived assets may not be recoverable. As discussed in Note 3 and Note 8 of our consolidated financial statements, no triggering events occurred in 2016 to cause concern that our long-lived assets or goodwill would be impaired and thus no goodwill impairment loss was noted in 2016. We perform an annual goodwill impairment test each year. Assumptions used in our impairment tests regarding future operating results of our reporting units could prove to be inaccurate. This could cause an adverse change in our valuation and thus any of our long-lived assets or goodwill impairment tests may have been flawed. Any future impairment tests are subject to the same risks.
The use of railcars as a significant mode of transporting freight could decline, become more efficient over time, experience a shift in types of modal transportation, and/or certain railcar types could become obsolete
.
As the freight transportation markets we serve continue to evolve and become more efficient, the use of railcars may decline in favor of other more economic modes of transportation. Features and functionality specific to certain railcar types could result in those railcars becoming obsolete as customer requirements for freight delivery change. Our operations may be adversely impacted by changes in the preferred method used by customers to ship their products or changes in demand for particular
products. The industries in which our customers operate are driven by dynamic market forces and trends, which are in turn influenced by economic and political factors in the U.S. and abroad. Demand for our railcars may be significantly affected by changes in the markets in which our customers operate. A significant reduction in customer demand for transportation or manufacture of a particular product or change in the preferred method of transportation used by customers to ship their products could result in the economic obsolescence of our railcars, including those leased by our customers.
Our stock price may decline due to sales of shares beneficially owned by Mr. Carl Icahn through IELP.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the perception that these sales may occur, may materially adversely affect the price of our common stock and impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of equity securities in the future. Of our outstanding shares of common stock, currently approximately
62%
are beneficially owned by Mr. Carl Icahn, our principal beneficial stockholder through IELP.
Certain stockholders are contractually entitled, subject to certain exceptions, to exercise their demand registration rights to register their shares under the Securities Act of 1933. If this right is exercised, holders of any of our common stock subject to these agreements will be entitled to participate in such registration. By exercising their registration rights, and selling a large number of shares, these holders could cause the price of our common stock to decline. Approximately 11.2 million shares of common stock are covered by such registration rights.
Changes in accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in the application of accounting policies could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported value of our assets or liabilities and financial results and are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective, and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. Accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards, such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and SEC may amend or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. These changes can be hard to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NASDAQ Global Select Market rules and therefore we are not subject to all of the NASDAQ Global Select Market corporate governance requirements.
As we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ Global Select Market, we have elected, as permitted by those rules, not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. For example, our board of directors does not have a majority of independent directors and we do not have a nominating committee or compensation committee consisting of independent directors. As a result, our officers' compensation is not determined by our independent directors, and director nominees are not selected or recommended by a majority of independent directors.
Payments of cash dividends on our common stock may be made only at the discretion of our board of directors and may be restricted by North Dakota law.
Any decision to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our operating results, strategic plans, capital requirements, financial condition, provisions of our borrowing arrangements and other factors our board of directors considers relevant. Furthermore, North Dakota law imposes restrictions on our ability to pay dividends. Accordingly, we may not be able to continue to pay dividends in any given amount in the future, or at all.
We are governed by the North Dakota Publicly Traded Corporations Act. Interpretation and application of this act is scarce and such lack of predictability could be detrimental to our stockholders
.
The North Dakota Publicly Traded Corporations Act, which we are governed by, was enacted in 2007 and, to our knowledge, no other companies are yet subject to its provisions and interpretations of its likely application are scarce. Although the North Dakota Publicly Traded Corporations Act specifically provides that its provisions must be liberally construed to protect and enhance the rights of stockholders in publicly traded corporations, this lack of predictability could be detrimental to our stockholders.
Unanticipated changes in our tax provisions, exposure to additional tax liabilities, or contests with the Internal Revenue Service regarding tax positions we may take could affect our financial condition and profitability.
Judgement is required to determine our provision for income taxes. Changes in estimates of projected future operating results, loss of deductibility of items, or recapture of prior deductions could result in significant increases to our tax expense and
liabilities that could adversely affect our financial condition and profitability.
Further, we may take tax positions that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or other tax authorities may contest. If the IRS or other tax authorities successfully contest a position that we take, we may be required to pay additional taxes, interest or fines and any payments could have an effect on our results of operations or financial position.
We may be affected by climate change or market or regulatory responses to climate change.
Changes in laws, rules, and regulations, or actions by authorities under existing laws, rules, or regulations, to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change could negatively impact our customers and business. For example, restrictions on emissions could significantly increase costs for our customers whose production processes require significant amounts of energy. Customers' increased costs could reduce their demand to purchase or lease our railcars. In addition, railcars in our fleet that are used to carry fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, could see reduced demand if new government regulations mandate a reduction in fossil fuel consumption. Potential consequences of laws, rules, or regulations addressing climate change could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks and other cyber incidents resulting in disruption.
Threats to information technology systems associated with cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents or attacks continue to grow. We depend on information technology systems. In addition, we collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential customer information in the normal course of business. Despite the security measures we have in place and any additional measures we may implement in the future, our facilities and systems, and those of our third-party service providers, could be vulnerable to security breaches, computer viruses, lost or misplaced data, programming errors, human errors, acts of vandalism or other events. Any disruption of our systems or security breach or event resulting in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, whether by us directly or our third-party service providers, could damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of litigation and liability, disrupt our business or otherwise affect our results of operations.
Terrorist attacks could negatively impact our operations and profitability and may expose us to liability.
Terrorist attacks may negatively affect our operations. Such attacks in the past have caused uncertainty in the global financial markets and economic instability in the U.S. and elsewhere, and further acts of terrorism, violence or war could similarly affect global financial markets and trade, as well as the industries in which we and our customers operate. In addition, terrorist attacks or hostilities may directly impact our physical facilities or those of our suppliers or customers, which could adversely impact our operations. These uncertainties could also adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
It is also possible that our products, particularly railcars we produce, could be involved in a terrorist attack. Although the terms of our lease agreements require lessees to indemnify us and others against a broad spectrum of damages arising out of the use of the railcars, and we currently carry insurance to potentially offset losses in the event that customer indemnifications prove to be insufficient, we may not be fully protected from liability arising from a terrorist attack that involves our railcars. In addition, any terrorist attack involving any of our railcars may cause reputational damage, or other losses, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
National and international political developments in response to a terrorist attack or uncertainties related to potential attacks may cause governments to enact legislation or regulations directed toward improving the security of railcars, could cause decreased demand for railcars and result in downturns in the industries in which we or our customers operate. Depending on the severity, scope, and duration of these circumstances, the impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be material.
Our internal controls over financial accounting and reporting may not detect all errors or omissions in our financial statements.
If we fail to maintain adequate internal controls over financial accounting, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related regulations. Effective internal and disclosure controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a public company. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our reputation and operating results would be harmed. Although management has concluded that adequate internal control procedures are in place as of December 31, 2016, no system of internal control provides absolute assurance that the financial statements are accurate and free of error.
Item 1B: Unresolved Staff Comments
None
Item 2: Properties
Our headquarters is located in St. Charles, Missouri. We lease this facility pursuant to a lease agreement that expires December 31, 2021.
As of
December 31, 2016
, we owned manufacturing plants located in Paragould, Arkansas; Marmaduke, Arkansas; Jackson, Missouri; Kennett, Missouri; and Longview, Texas.
In addition, as of
December 31, 2016
, we operate
eight
railcar services facilities and
eleven
mobile units and mini shop facilities where we provide railcar repair and field services. Six of the railcar services facilities are owned and two are leased.