Reporting Marks

Reporting marks are the letter code that identifies the owner of a piece of rail equipment. Stenciled on the side of every freight car and combined with the car's number, the marks form a unique identity for that car across all of North America. The same code is also called the road marks or the equipment initial. A carrier's Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) serves as its reporting mark on rail equipment - the reporting mark is the rail-equipment form of the SCAC, though the SCAC itself is a broader carrier code used across other modes as well.

How They Work

A set of reporting marks is an alphabetic code assigned to the owner of the equipment. Paired with a car number, it produces the car's equipment ID, such as a reporting mark followed by a number unique to that owner's fleet. Because the marks identify the owner, they tell railroads, shippers, and billing systems who is responsible for the car no matter whose tracks it is traveling on.

Why They Matter

Reporting marks are central to how the interchange network functions. When a car moves in interchange from one road to another, the marks identify who owns it, who should be billed for any repairs through Car Repair Billing, and where car-related charges should be directed. If a car's owner changes or it receives new marks, the car must be re-stenciled and its records updated - a process called restenciling. The codes are administered under the standards maintained by the AAR.