Greenbrier Management Services Grows Managed Fleet to 355,000, Now Serves Over 20% of All North American Railcars

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Nov. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) announced today that its subsidiary, Greenbrier Management Services LLC ("GMS") has expanded its railcar fleet under management by approximately 85,000 railcars since August 31, 2016, an increase of more than 30% in this period.  With 355,000 railcars in its management portfolio, GMS now provides management services for over 20% of the total North American railcar fleet.  Through its Regulatory Services Group, GMS has also launched a new web-based learning management tool that brings on-demand, industry-leading hazmat transportation and non-destructive testing training to tank car management customers. As part of a comprehensive regulatory compliance regime for GMS-managed hazmat shippers, the online training systems allow customers to participate in different types of training at their convenience. The combination of onsite classroom training and online web-based training provides timeliness and availability for shippers required to comply with stringent hazmat regulations. Additionally, GMS recently launched AssetView360™, a proprietary asset management platform that provides web-based access to real-time data such as maintenance performance, asset characteristics, compliance documentation, location and logistics reporting, and other vital data essential to railcar owners and fleet managers.  Collectively, these advancements demonstrate Greenbrier's ability to successfully serve a unique rail asset ownership community that demands best-in-class, value-added asset management services. 

"Through GMS, Greenbrier provides the industry's most comprehensive offering of railcar asset management services to all constituencies in the rail freight business," said William A. Furman, Chairman and CEO.  "GMS continues to increase in importance and prominence in its markets.  GMS' growth generates valuable fee income for Greenbrier as well as benefits for our other businesses like Manufacturing and Leasing & Services. The rapid expansion of GMS' managed railcar fleet in recent months occurred principally with Class I railroads where quality, service and reliability are essential. Today, almost every Class I railroad in North America relies on some portion of Greenbrier's portfolio of railcar management services to help conduct their operations."

Dan Weiler, Senior Vice President and head of GMS said, "Maximizing the benefits derived from pairing industry experts with advanced technologies is at the core of what we do at GMS.  Our industry-leading fleet management group combined with innovations like our on-line regulatory compliance tools and state-of-the-art asset management software now permits GMS to support our customers like never before.  Our growth and novel technology assets afford opportunities for GMS to collaborate across Greenbrier's integrated businesses in new and meaningful ways."

About Greenbrier
Greenbrier­­, headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading international supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets. Greenbrier designs, builds and markets freight railcars and marine barges in North America. Greenbrier Europe is an end-to-end freight railcar manufacturing, engineering and repair business with operations in Poland and Romania that serves customers across Europe and in the nations of the GCC. Greenbrier builds freight railcars and rail castings in Brazil through two separate strategic partnerships. We are a leading provider of wheel services, parts, railcar management & regulatory compliance services and leasing services to railroads and related transportation industries in North America.  Greenbrier offers freight railcar repair, refurbishment and retrofitting services in North America through a joint venture partnership with Watco Companies, LLC. Through other unconsolidated joint ventures, we produce industrial and rail castings, tank heads and other components. Greenbrier owns a lease fleet of over 8,300 railcars and performs management services for 355,000 railcars. Learn more about Greenbrier at www.gbrx.com.

About Greenbrier Management Services
Greenbrier Management Services (GMS) is North America's most comprehensive railcar management solutions provider.  GMS manages 355,000 railcars and has invested over 20 years in developing technology, processes, and people to provide the high quality and customer-focused services to the industry.  GMS is powered by a proprietary unified software platform and industry veteran subject matter experts in the railcar business.  Combined, these two vitally important capabilities are able to deliver world class solutions to every type of customer, from Class I railroads, lessors, and industrial shippers to financial investors.

GMS railcar management services include: maintenance expense management and billing administration, repair expense forecasting, tank car engineering and regulatory compliance, scheduled maintenance program design, ad valorem tax filings, railcar tracking and visibility systems, railcar logistics services, storage management, lease administration and car hire processing and back office.  Originally built with Greenbrier's own diverse car owner and lessor responsibilities in mind, GMS brings broad expertise to cover nearly any railcar management need that customers may have and its integrated solutions and reporting can be customized for any customer function or management need.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:  This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including any statements that are not purely statements of historical fact.  Greenbrier uses words such as "anticipates," "believes," "forecast," "potential," "goal," "contemplates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "hopes," "seeks," "estimates," "strategy," "could," "would," "should," "likely," "will," "may," "can," "designed to," "future," "foreseeable future" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements.  Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, reported backlog and awards that are not indicative of Greenbrier's financial results; uncertainty or changes in the credit markets and financial services industry; high levels of indebtedness and compliance with the terms of Greenbrier's indebtedness; write-downs of goodwill, intangibles and other assets in future periods; sufficient availability of borrowing capacity; fluctuations in demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more significant customers; customer payment defaults or related issues; policies and priorities of the federal government regarding international trade, taxation and infrastructure; sovereign risk to contracts, exchange rates or property rights; actual future costs and the availability of materials and a trained workforce; failure to design or manufacture new products or technologies or to achieve certification or market acceptance of new products or technologies; steel or specialty component price fluctuations and availability and scrap surcharges; changes in product mix and the mix between segments; labor disputes, energy shortages or operating difficulties that might disrupt manufacturing operations or the flow of cargo; production difficulties and product delivery delays as a result of, among other matters, costs or inefficiencies associated with expansion, start-up, or changing of production lines or changes in production rates, changing technologies, transfer of production between facilities or non-performance of alliance partners, subcontractors or suppliers; ability to obtain suitable contracts for the sale of leased equipment and risks related to car hire and residual values; integration of current or future acquisitions and establishment of joint ventures; succession planning; discovery of defects in railcars or services resulting in increased warranty costs or litigation; physical damage or product or service liability claims that exceed Greenbrier's insurance coverage; train derailments or other accidents or claims that could subject Greenbrier to legal claims; actions or inactions by various regulatory agencies including potential environmental remediation obligations or changing tank car or other railcar or railroad regulation; and issues arising from investigations of whistleblower complaints; all as may be discussed in more detail under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Forward Looking Statements" in Greenbrier's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017, and Greenbrier's other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's opinions only as of the date hereof.  Except as otherwise required by law, Greenbrier does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX)

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http://www.gbrx.com