GATX (GATX) Risk Factors

We depend on continued demand from our customers to lease or use our transportation assets and services and on our customers' ability to pay for leased assets and services. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, the slowdown of economic activity around the world (including a decrease in demand for a broad variety of goods and services), disruptions in global supply chains, a dramatic reduction in air travel, and significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. As a result, there has been reduced demand for leasing of certain railcar types and for aircraft spare engines, as well as downward pressure on asset utilization, lease rates and renewals, and asset disposition activity across our segments, which adversely affects our financial performance. Prolonged weakness in certain sectors of the global economy may make it difficult for us to lease certain types of our transportation assets that are returned either at lease end or due to customer bankruptcies or defaults. Additionally, there have been a number of requests from certain railcar- and aircraft spare engine-leasing customers for payment deferrals and rate restructurings, and we and our RRPF affiliates have made such accommodations for certain of those customers. Although these lease restructurings primarily provide for delays in the receipt of lease revenues, the pandemic may threaten the solvency of customers in certain industries and lead to an increase in customer bankruptcies. We are facing increased operational challenges from the need to protect employee health and safety, workplace disruptions and restrictions on the movement of people, raw materials and goods. The situation surrounding COVID-19 is fluid and, depending on how long markets remain disrupted, financial and market dynamics and volatility may heighten risks related to our financing activities. Conditions in the financial and credit markets may also limit the availability of funding or increase the cost of funding, which could adversely affect our business, financial position, and results of operations. Because the severity, magnitude, and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences are uncertain, rapidly changing, and difficult to predict, the pandemic's impact on our operations, financial performance, and liquidity, as well as its impact on our ability to successfully execute our business strategy, remains uncertain and difficult to predict. Further, the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and financial performance depends on many factors that are not within our control, including, but not limited, to: governmental, business, suppliers', and individuals' actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response on global and regional economies, travel, and economic activity; general economic uncertainty in the global markets we serve and volatility in financial markets; global economic conditions and levels of economic growth; and the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. As a result, we expect COVID-19 to continue to negatively impact our operating results in future periods. However, we are currently unable to provide any assurance as to the magnitude and duration of any such impact. We also expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will increase many of the risks described in "Item 1A, Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Other than as described in this item, there have been no material changes in our risk factors since December 31, 2019. For a discussion of our risk factors, refer to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The timing and duration of the effects of inflation are unpredictable and depend on market conditions and economic factors. Inflation in lease rates as well as inflation in residual values for rail and marine assets has historically benefited our financial results. However, these benefits may be offset by increases in the costs for goods and services we purchase, including salaries and wages, health care costs, supplies, utilities, maintenance and repair services, and materials, as well as increased financing costs. Significant increases in our cost of goods and services could adversely impact our financial performance. Conversely, a period of prolonged deflation could negatively impact our lease rate pricing, residual values, and asset remarketing opportunities. These negative impacts of deflation may be offset by decreases to our costs for goods and services, including those listed above.

We are subject to extensive federal, foreign, state, and local environmental laws and regulations concerning, among other things, the discharge of hazardous materials and remediation of contaminated sites. In addition, some of our properties, including those previously owned or leased, have been used for industrial purposes, which may have resulted in discharges onto these properties. Environmental liability can extend to previously owned or operated properties in addition to properties we currently own or use. Additionally, we could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, fines, and costs arising out of third-party claims for property or natural resource damage and personal injury as a result of violations of or liabilities under environmental laws and regulations in connection with our or our lessees' current or historical operations. Under some environmental laws in the United States and certain other countries, the owner of a leased asset may be liable for environmental damage, cleanup or other costs in the event of a spill or discharge of material from such asset without regard to the owner's fault. Governments or regulators may change the legislative or regulatory frameworks within which we operate, including environmental laws and regulations, without providing us any recourse to address any adverse effects such changes may have on our business. Due to the regulatory complexities, risk of unidentified contaminants on our properties, and the potential liability for our operations as well as those of our lessees, it is possible environmental and remediation costs may be materially different from the costs we have estimated.

Our profitability depends on our ability to lease assets at satisfactory rates and to re-lease assets upon lease expiration. Customer demand for our transportation assets and services can be adversely affected by various economic and other factors, including: Weak macroeconomic conditions Weak market conditions in our customers' businesses Declines in harvest or production volumes Adverse changes in the price of, or demand for, commodities Changes in railroad operations and efficiency Changes in railroad pricing and service offerings, including those related to "precision scheduled railroading" Changes in supply chains Availability of pipelines, trucks, and other alternative modes of transportation Conditions on the Great Lakes Changes in conditions affecting the aviation industry, including geographic exposure and customer concentrations Other operational or commercial needs or decisions of our customers World trade policies Demand for our railcars and other assets is dependent on the strength and growth of our customers' businesses. Some of our customers operate in cyclical markets, such as the steel, energy, chemical, transportation, and construction industries, which are susceptible to macroeconomic downturns and may experience significant changes in demand over time. Weakness in certain sectors of the economy in the United States and other parts of the world may make it more difficult for us to lease certain types of transportation assets that are either returned at the end of a lease term or returned as a result of a customer bankruptcy or default. Adverse changes in commodity prices or reduced demand for commodities could reduce customer demand for various types of assets in our fleet. A significant decrease in the price of a commodity may cause producers of that commodity to reduce their production levels. A significant increase in the price of a commodity could cause our customers to switch to less expensive transport alternatives. In either case, these changes in customer behavior can reduce demand for the portions of our fleet that are used to transport the commodity. In addition, demand for rail assets 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. The availability and relative cost of alternative modes of transportation and changes in customer transportation preferences also could reduce demand for our rail assets. For example, technological innovations in the trucking industry and patterns in U.S. economic growth that favor truck over rail could result in a modal shift away from rail and reduce customer demand for our rail assets. Demand for our marine and aircraft spare engine assets and related services is also influenced by many of the factors discussed above. For example, aircraft spare engine leasing is influenced by airline and lessee profitability, reliability and durability of engine types, world trade policies, technological advances, and price and other competitive factors. A significant decline in customer demand for our assets and services could adversely affect our financial performance. In many cases, demand for our assets also depends on our customers' desire to lease, rather than buy, the assets. Tax and accounting considerations, interest rates, and operational flexibility, among other factors, may influence a customer's decision to lease or buy assets. We have no control over these external considerations, and changes in these factors, including recent changes to lease accounting rules and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, could negatively impact demand for our assets held for lease.

Decreases in customer demand for our transportation assets could increase the number of leases that are not renewed upon expiration, resulting in the return of such assets by our customers. Returned transportation assets often must undergo maintenance and service work before being leased to new customers. A significant increase in the number of leased assets requiring maintenance may negatively affect our operations and substantially increase maintenance and other related costs. We also perform a variety of government or industry-mandated maintenance programs on our fleet. These compliance programs are cyclical in nature, and as a result, we can face significant increases in the number of maintenance events in any given year. A significant increase in maintenance or severe constraints in the repair networks may negatively impact our operations and substantially increase maintenance and other related costs. In addition, while we rely on third party maintenance providers to assist with these compliance procedures for our transportation assets, high demand faced by these providers from other asset owners may constrain our access to the providers or may substantially increase our costs.