Seventy-eight percent of this new capacity will be delivered by September 1, 2000. This is all 53-foot well capacity made up of 8,046 platforms of articulated cars and 4,092 platforms of drawbar connected cars. The heavy-duty cars range in capacity from 210 tons to 370 tons, and are of both straight deck and drop frame configurations. It is expected that just over 17 million vehicles will be sold in the U.S. this year. All expectations are for a slowdown next year to about 16 million vehicles.
Automotive loadings remain brisk.
We are in the middle of the model changeover for most of the domestic assembly plants. We are experiencing a slower than usual changeover with several locations reporting a high number of shippable units still on the ground. When these non-shippable units are released, it will put a severe strain on the network to clear up the backlog. The demand for heavy-duty flatcars continues to be very strong. The Company previously placed orders for 18 additional FD heavy-duty flatcars for delivery during 2000.