Description of the Business	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Description of the Business [Abstract]
Description of the Business	Note 1 – Description of the Business FreightCar America, Inc. (“FreightCar”) operates primarily in North America through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, and manufactures a wide range of railroad freight cars, supplies railcar parts and leases freight cars. The Company designs and builds high-quality railcars, including coal cars, bulk commodity cars, covered hopper cars, intermodal and non-intermodal flat cars, mill gondola cars, coil steel cars and boxcars, and also specializes in the conversion of railcars for re-purposed use. The Company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has facilities in the following locations: Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, and Castaños, Coahuila, Mexico (“Castaños”). During 2019, the Company entered into a joint venture arrangement with Fabricaciones y Servicios de México, S.A. de C.V. (“Fasemex”), a Mexican company with operations in both Mexico and the United States to manufacture railcars in Castaños, in exchange for a 50% interest in the operation. Production of railcars at the Castaños facility began during the third quarter of 2020. On October 16, 2020, the Company acquired Fasemex’s 50% ownership in the joint venture. As of March 2021, the Company has moved all of its production to the Castaños facility. The Company ceased operations at its Roanoke Virginia manufacturing facility (the “Roanoke Facility”) and vacated the facility as of March 31, 2020. On September 10, 2020, the Company announced its plan to permanently close its manufacturing facility in Cherokee, Alabama (the “Shoals Facility”) in light of the ongoing cyclical industry downturn, which has been magnified by the global pandemic. The closure will reduce costs and align the Company’s manufacturing capacity with the current rail car market. The Company ceased production at the Shoals Facility in February 2021. See Note 14–Restructuring and Impairment Charges. We are closely monitoring the spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and are continually assessing its potential effects on our business and our financial performance as well as the businesses of our customers and vendors. The Company cannot predict the duration or severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot reasonably estimate the financial impact the COVID-19 outbreak will have on our results and significant estimates going forward.

Description of the Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Description of the Business [Abstract]

Note 1 – Description of the Business

FreightCar America, Inc. (“FreightCar”) operates primarily in North America through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, and manufactures a wide range of railroad freight cars, supplies railcar parts and leases freight cars. The Company designs and builds high-quality railcars, including coal cars, bulk commodity cars, covered hopper cars, intermodal and non-intermodal flat cars, mill gondola cars, coil steel cars and boxcars, and also specializes in the conversion of railcars for re-purposed use. The Company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has facilities in the following locations: Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, and Castaños, Coahuila, Mexico (“Castaños”).

During 2019, the Company entered into a joint venture arrangement with Fabricaciones y Servicios de México, S.A. de C.V. (“Fasemex”), a Mexican company with operations in both Mexico and the United States to manufacture railcars in Castaños, in exchange for a 50% interest in the operation. Production of railcars at the Castaños facility began during the third quarter of 2020. On October 16, 2020, the Company acquired Fasemex’s 50% ownership in the joint venture. As of March 2021, the Company has moved all of its production to the Castaños facility.

The Company ceased operations at its Roanoke Virginia manufacturing facility (the “Roanoke Facility”) and vacated the facility as of March 31, 2020. On September 10, 2020, the Company announced its plan to permanently close its manufacturing facility in Cherokee, Alabama (the “Shoals Facility”) in light of the ongoing cyclical industry downturn, which has been magnified by the global pandemic. The closure will reduce costs and align the Company’s manufacturing capacity with the current rail car market. The Company ceased production at the Shoals Facility in February 2021. See Note 14–Restructuring and Impairment Charges.

We are closely monitoring the spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and are continually assessing its potential effects on our business and our financial performance as well as the businesses of our customers and vendors. The Company cannot predict the duration or severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot reasonably estimate the financial impact the COVID-19 outbreak will have on our results and significant estimates going forward.