FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) today announced that the
settlement in the Sowers/Hayden class action litigation has received
court approval. The Company’s previously-announced global settlement
relating to its Johnstown, Pennsylvania manufacturing facility was
conditioned on court approval of this class action settlement. In a
ruling released yesterday, the U.S. District Court in Johnstown held
that the class action settlement is “fair, reasonable, adequate and in
the best interest of the Class Members.”
The global settlement resolves all pending legal disputes relating to
the Company’s Johnstown facility and its workforce. The Company had
previously stated that the labor costs at the facility were
significantly higher than at its other facilities. Responding to a
downturn in the railcar industry, the Company attempted to agree with
the local union on a reduction in labor costs, but those efforts were
not successful. The Company accordingly announced in December 2007 a
decision to close the Johnstown facility. Thomas P. McCarthy, the
Company’s Senior Vice President, Human Resources, stated, “Our decision
to close the Johnstown plant was not based on pension costs. That said,
we need to put these disputes behind us. This settlement is in the best
interests of our shareholders and we believe that its terms are fair to
all parties.”
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.
FreightCar America, Inc.
Thomas P. McCarthy, 800-458-2235
