GATX reporting marks

Q My employer receives plastic pellets in rail cars. Recently, I saw a car that was marked with GATX on the opposite end from the reporting marks, which were different. Do the chemical companies own the cars, or are they leased?
— Frank L. Mejean, Crawfordsville, Ind.

A GATX Corp. is a leader in leasing transportation assets and controls one of the largest railcar fleets in the world. While the large “GATX” logo appears on many of the railcars we own, the logo itself does not have any operational significance. Each railcar has a reporting mark and number, which identifies the car for operational purposes. GATX controls a large number of marks, so the plastic pellet hopper car in question may have a reporting mark of “GACX” or “GPLX”, for example, which are two marks we may apply to cars of this type. Alternatively, the car may be on a “net lease” to one of our customers. Under a net lease, the customer is responsible for maintaining the car, and the car will have a reporting mark controlled by the customer.
— Paul Titterton, vice president and executive director, Fleet Portfolio Management with GATX Corp.