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FreightCar America, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results Chicago, IL, October 30, 2008 – FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2008. For the third quarter of 2008, sales were $238.0 million and net income was $7.4 million, or $0.62 per diluted share. For the third quarter of 2007, the Company generated sales of $162.1 million and net income of $8.7 million, or $0.73 per diluted share. “We are pleased to report positive results for the third quarter, which are a direct reflection of our efforts to control costs during a volatile period in both the broad economy as well as the railcar industry,” said Chris Ragot, President and CEO. “Going forward, we will continue to pursue cost reduction efforts across all levels of the organization as well as help optimize our manufacturing capacity. We remain confident that our strategy will prove successful over the long term as we continue to navigate through this challenging environment.” “Orders for new railcars totaled 2,329 units in the third quarter of 2008, compared with 1,436 units ordered in the second quarter of 2008 and 1,262 units ordered in the third quarter of 2007. The backlog of unfilled orders was 4,401 units at September 30, 2008, which consists of 4,205 new cars and 196 rebuild / refurbishment cars, compared with 4,930 units at September 30, 2007 and 4,917 units at June 30, 2008. We expect to see similar uneven industry trends for the remainder of the year.” Mr. Ragot further stated, “In addition to our cost reduction efforts, we continue to pursue several strategic growth initiatives. First, we are diversifying our revenue streams, through new railcar product offerings, as well as expansion of our activities into aftermarket services related to our coal cars. Second, we continue to expand internationally as our Indian joint venture continues to progress on schedule. We believe that these and other strategic growth initiatives combined with our continued focus on cost savings will ultimately drive the long-term success of the Company and ensure increased value for all of our stakeholders.” For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, sales were $474.4 million and net loss was $3.7 million or a net loss of $0.32 per diluted share. In comparison, for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, the Company had sales of $679.9 million and net income of $43.1 million, or $3.49 per diluted share. The Company will host a conference call on Thursday October 30, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss the Company's third quarter financial results. To participate in the conference call, please dial (800) 230-1951. Interested parties are asked to dial in approximately 10 to 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on October 30, 2008 until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on November 6, 2008. To access the replay, please dial (800) 475-6701. The replay pass code is 965694. An audio replay of the call will be available on the Company’s website within two days following the earnings call. FreightCar America, Inc. manufactures railroad freight cars, with particular expertise in coal-carrying railcars. In addition to coal cars, FreightCar America designs and builds bulk commodity cars, flat cars, mill gondola cars, intermodal cars, coil steel cars and motor vehicle carriers. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has facilities in Danville, Illinois, Roanoke, Virginia and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. More information about FreightCar America is available on its website at www.freightcaramerica.com. This press release may contain statements relating to our expected financial performance and/or future business prospects, events and plans that are “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Our actual results may differ materially from the results described in or anticipated by our forward-looking statements due to certain risks and uncertainties. These potential risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the cyclical nature of our business; adverse economic and market conditions; fluctuating costs of raw materials, including steel and aluminum, and delays in the delivery of raw materials; our ability to maintain relationships with our suppliers of railcar components; our reliance upon a small number of customers that represent a large percentage of our sales; the variable purchase patterns of our customers and the timing of completion, delivery and acceptance of customer orders; the highly competitive nature of our industry; the risk of lack of acceptance of our new railcar offerings by our customers; and the additional risk factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to any forward-looking statements made in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about FreightCar America is available on its website at www.freightcaramerica.com.
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