form10k.htm


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
 
FORM 10-K
 
x
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For The Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2011
or
¨
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Transition Period from                     to
Commission file number-001-33388
 

CAI International, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in the charter)
 

 Delaware
 
94-3109229
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
 
 
 
Steuart Tower
 
 
1 Market Plaza, Suite 900 San Francisco, California
 
94105
(Address of principal executive office)
 
(Zip Code)

(415) 788-0100
(Registrant’s telephone number including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
 
Title of each class
 
Name of exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
 
New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes ¨   No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.   Yes ¨   No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement for the past 90 days.   Yes x   No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x   No ¨
 
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K(§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act
 
 Large accelerated filer   ¨
Accelerated filer   x
Non-accelerated filer     ¨
(Do not check if smaller reporting company)
Smaller reporting company    ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes ¨   No x

As of June 30, 2011, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there were 19,295,359 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding, and the aggregate market value of such shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based upon the closing sale price of such shares on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2011) was approximately $252.0 million. Shares of registrant’s common stock held by each executive officer and director have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of March 1, 2012, there were 19,295,359 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.
 
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement relating to the registrant’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed no later than 120 days after the close of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.
 


 
 

 
 
PART I
 
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
4
Item 1A.
10
Item 1B.
25
Item 2.
25
Item 3.
25
Item 4.
25
 
 
 
PART II
 
 
Item 5.
26
Item 6.
27
Item 7.
30
Item 7A.
45
Item 8.
46
Item 9.
46
Item 9A.
46
Item 9B.
48
 
 
 
PART III
 
 
Item 10.
49
Item 11.
49
Item 12.
49
Item 13.
49
Item 14.
49
 
 
 
PART IV
 
 
Item 15.
50
   
79

 
2

 
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE “SAFE HARBOR” PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements concerning the conditions in our industry, our operations, our economic performance and financial condition, including, in particular, statements relating to our business and growth strategy and service development efforts. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for certain forward-looking statements so long as such information is identified as forward-looking and is accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the information. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the words “may”, “might”, “should”, “estimate”, “project”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend”, “outlook”, “believe” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those identified under the caption Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this annual report and in all our other filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Reference is also made to such risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC.

WEBSITE ACCESS TO COMPANY’S REPORTS AND CODE OF ETHICS

Our Internet website address is http://www.capps.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is also available on our website.

Also, copies of our filings with the SEC and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics will be made available, free of charge, upon written request.

SERVICE MARKS MATTERS

The following items referred to in this annual report are registered or unregistered service marks in the United States and/or foreign jurisdictions pursuant to applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of us and our subsidiaries: CAI® and CAI International®.

 
 PART I

 
ITEM  1.

Our Company

We are one of the world’s leading container leasing and management companies. We operate our business through two segments: container leasing and container management. We purchase new and used containers, lease them primarily to container shipping lines, freight forwarders and other transportation companies and either retain them as part of our owned fleet or sell them to container investors for whom we then provide management services. In operating our fleet, we lease, re-lease and dispose of containers and contract for the repair, repositioning and storage of containers. As of December 31, 2011, our fleet comprised 928,655 20-foot equivalent units or TEUs, the industry’s standard measurement unit, 49.3% of which represented our managed fleet and 50.7% of which represented our owned fleet.

We lease our containers to lessees under long-term leases, short-term leases and finance leases. Long-term leases cover a specified number of containers that will be on lease for one year or more. Short-term leases provide lessees with the ability to lease containers either for a fixed term of less than one year or without a fixed term on an as-needed basis, with flexible pick-up and drop-off of containers at depots worldwide, subject to certain restrictions. Finance leases are long-term lease contracts that generally grant the lessee the right to purchase the container at the end of the term for a nominal amount. As of December 31, 2011, 95.3% of our fleet, as measured in TEUs, was on lease, with 78.7% of these containers on long-term leases, 17.4% on short-term leases and 3.9% on finance leases.

We manage containers for container investors under management agreements that cover portfolios of containers. Our management agreements have multiple year terms and provide that we receive a management fee based upon the actual rental revenue for each container less the actual operating expenses directly attributable to that container. We also receive fees for selling used containers on behalf of container investors.

Our container leasing segment revenue comprises container rental revenue and finance lease income from our owned fleet, and our container management segment revenue comprises gain on sale of container portfolios and management fee revenue for managing containers for container investors. The operating results of each segment and details of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and information regarding the geographic areas in which we do business are summarized in Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements included in this filing. For the year ended December 31, 2011, we recorded total revenue of $125.7 million, net income of $50.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $118.8 million. A comparison of our 2011 financial results with those of the prior years and a definition of adjusted EBITDA, as well as a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP measure, can be found on Item 6, Selected Financial Data of this Form 10-K filing.

Our container lessees use containers for their global trade utilizing many worldwide trade routes. We earn our revenue from international carriers when the containers are in use and carrying cargo around the world. Most of our leasing related revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars. All of our containers are used internationally and no one container is domiciled in one particular place for a prolonged period of time. As such, all of our long-lived assets are considered to be international with no single country of use.

History

We were founded in 1989 by our Chairman, Hiromitsu Ogawa, as a traditional container leasing company that leased containers owned by us to container shipping lines. We were originally incorporated under the name Container Applications International, Inc. in the state of Nevada on August 3, 1989. On February 2, 2007, we were reincorporated under our present name in the state of Delaware.

On May 16, 2007, we completed an initial public offering of our common stock and listed our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CAP”. On April 30, 2008, we acquired CAI Consent Sweden AB (Consent), formerly named Consent Equipment AB, a European container and intermodal equipment leasing company, for $14.6 million in cash (net of $1.3 million cash acquired) and the assumption of approximately $25.7 million in debt. Consent was headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden at the time of its acquisition. In February 2010, Consent’s headquarters were transferred to the United Kingdom. Consent also has an office in Delmenhorst, Germany, which has remained open.

On December 20, 2011, we formed CAI Rail Inc. (CAI Rail), as a wholly owned subsidiary of CAI International, Inc.  CAI Rail was formed to purchase and lease-out a fleet of railcars in North America.

 
4


Corporate Information

Our corporate headquarters and principal executive offices are located at Steuart Tower, 1 Market Plaza, Suite 900, San Francisco, California 94105. Our telephone number is (415) 788-0100 and our Web Site is located at http://www.capps.com. We have a branch office located in Charleston, South Carolina. We operate our business in 13 offices in 11 countries including the United States, and have agents in Asia, Europe, South Africa, Australia and South America. Our wholly owned international subsidiaries are located in the United Kingdom, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden, Germany, Barbados and Bermuda. We also own 80% of CAIJ, Inc., which is an investment manager for container investors in Japan.

Industry Overview

We operate in the worldwide intermodal freight container leasing industry. Intermodal freight containers, or containers, are large, standardized steel boxes used to transport cargo by a number of means, including ship, truck and rail. Container shipping lines use containers as the primary means for packaging and transporting freight internationally, principally from export-oriented economies in Asia to other Asian countries, North America and Western Europe.

Containers are built in accordance with standard dimensions and weight specifications established by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The industry-standard measurement unit is the 20-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, which compares the size of a container to a standard container 20’ in length. For example, a 20’ container is equivalent to one TEU and a 40’ container is equivalent to two TEUs. The standard dry van containers are eight feet wide, come in lengths of 20’or 40’ and are either 8’6” or 9’6” tall. The two principal types of containers are described as follows:

 
Dry van containers. A dry van container is constructed of steel sides, roof and end panel with a set of doors on the other end, a wooden floor and a steel undercarriage. Dry van containers are the least expensive and most commonly used type of container. According to Container Census, 2011- Survey and Forecast of Global Container Units, published by Drewry Maritime Research, dry van containers comprised approximately 89.4% of the worldwide container fleet, as measured in TEUs, as of the end of 2010. They are used to carry general cargo, such as manufactured component parts, consumer staples, electronics and apparel.

 
Specialized equipment. Specialized equipment consists of open-top, flat-racks, palletwide containers, swapbodies, roll trailers, refrigerated containers and generator sets. An open-top container is similar in construction to a dry van container except that the roof is replaced with a tarpaulin supported by removable roof bows. A flat-rack container is a heavily reinforced steel platform with a wood deck and steel end panels. Open-top and flat-rack containers are generally used to move heavy or oversized cargo, such as marble slabs, building products or machinery. Palletwide containers are a type of dry-van container externally similar to ISO standard containers, but internally about two inches wider so as to accommodate two European-sized pallets side-by-side. Swapbodies are a type of dry van container designed to be easily transferred between rail, truck, and barge and are equipped with legs under their frames. Roll trailers are a type of flat-bed trailer equipped with rubber wheels underneath for terminal haulage and stowage on board of roll-on/roll-off vessels. A refrigerated container has an integrated refrigeration unit on one end which plugs into a generator set or other outside power source and is used to transport perishable goods. According to Container Census, 2011- Survey and Forecast of Global Container Units, published by Drewry Maritime Research, specialized containers comprised approximately 10.6% of the worldwide container fleet, as measured in TEUs, as of the end of 2010.

Containers provide a secure and cost-effective method of transportation because they can be used in multiple modes of transportation, making it possible to move cargo from a point of origin to a final destination without repeated unpacking and repacking. As a result, containers reduce transit time and freight and labor costs as they permit faster loading and unloading of shipping vessels and more efficient utilization of transportation containers than traditional bulk shipping methods. The protection provided by containers also reduces damage, loss and theft of cargo during shipment. While the useful economic life of containers varies based upon the damage and normal wear and tear suffered by the container, we estimate that the useful economic life of a dry van container used in intermodal transportation is 12.5 years.

Container shipping lines own and lease containers for their use. The Container Census, 2011- Survey and Forecast of Global Container Units, published by Drewry Maritime Research, estimates that as of the end of 2010, transportation companies (including container shipping lines and freight forwarders), owned approximately 58.8% of the total worldwide container fleet and container leasing companies owned approximately 41.2% of the total worldwide container fleet based on TEUs. Given the uncertainty and variability of export volumes and the fact that container shipping lines have difficulty in accurately forecasting their container requirements at different ports, the availability of containers for lease significantly reduces a container shipping line’s need to purchase and maintain excess container inventory. In addition, container leases allow the container shipping lines to adjust their container fleets both seasonally and over time and help to balance trade flows. The flexibility offered by container leasing helps container shipping lines improve their overall fleet management and provides the container shipping lines with an alternative source of financing.

 
5

 
Our Operations

Container Fleet Overview. The table below summarizes the composition of our fleet as of December 31, 2011 by type of container:
 
 
 
Dry Van
Containers
 
 
Percent of
Total
Fleet
 
 
Specialized
Equipment
 
 
Percent of
Total Fleet
 
 
Total
 
 
Percent of
Total Fleet
 
Managed Fleet in TEU
 
 
449,797
 
 
 
48.5
%
 
 
8,457
 
 
 
0.9
%
 
 
458,254
 
 
 
49.3
%
Owned fleet in TEU
 
 
423,779
 
 
 
45.6
%
 
 
46,622
 
 
 
5.0
%
 
 
470,401
 
 
 
50.7
%
Total
 
 
873,576
 
 
 
94.1
%
 
 
55,079
 
 
 
5.9
%
 
 
928,655
 
 
 
100.0
%

Overview of Management Services. We lease, re-lease and dispose of containers and contract for the repair, repositioning and storage of our managed fleet. Our management agreements have multiple year terms and provide that we receive a management fee based upon the actual net operating revenue for each container, which is equal to the actual rental revenue for a container less the actual operating expenses directly attributable to that container. Management fees are collected monthly or quarterly, depending upon the agreement, and generally are not paid if net operating revenue is zero or less for a particular period. If operating expenses exceed revenue, container investors are required to pay the excess or we may deduct the excess, including our management fee, from future net operating revenue. Under these agreements, we typically receive a commission for selling or otherwise disposing of containers for the container investor. Our management agreements generally require us to indemnify the container investor for liabilities or losses arising out of our breach of our obligations. In return, the container investor typically indemnifies us in our capacity as the manager of the container against breach by the container investor, sales taxes on commencement of the arrangement, withholding taxes on payments to the container investor under the management agreement and any other taxes, other than our income taxes, incurred with respect to the containers that are not otherwise included as operating expenses deductible from revenue.

Marketing and Operations. Our marketing and operations personnel are responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with our lessees, facilitating lease contracts and maintaining day-to-day coordination of operational issues. This coordination allows us to negotiate lease contracts that satisfy both our financial return requirements and our lessees’ operating needs. It also facilitates our awareness of lessees’ potential container shortages and their awareness of our available container inventories.

We believe that our long-standing relationships with our lessees and the close communications we maintain with their operating staffs represent an important advantage for us. As of December 31, 2011, we employed 54 people within our marketing and operations group in eight countries. In addition, we have 13 independent agents in 10 other countries that help support our marketing and operations group.

Overview of Our Leases. To meet the needs of our lessees and achieve a favorable utilization rate, we lease containers under three main types of leases:

 
Long-Term Leases. Our long-term leases specify the number of containers to be leased, the pick-up and drop-off locations, the applicable per diem rate and the contractual term. We typically enter into long-term leases for a fixed term ranging from three to eight years, with five-year term leases being most common. Our long-term leases generally require our lessees to maintain all units on lease for the duration of the lease, which provides us with scheduled lease payments. Some of our long-term leases contain an early termination option and afford the lessee continuing supply and total interchangeability of containers, with the ability to redeliver containers if the lessee’s fleet requirements change. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 78.7% of our on-lease fleet, as measured in TEUs, was under long-term leases.

 
Short-Term Leases. Short-term leases include both master interchange leases and customized short-term leases. Master interchange leases provide a master framework pursuant to which lessees can lease containers on an as-needed basis, and thus command a higher per diem rate than long-term leases. The terms of master interchange leases are typically negotiated on an annual basis. Under our master interchange leases, lessees know in advance their per diem rates and drop-off locations, subject to monthly port limits. We also enter into other short-term leases that typically have a term of less than one year and are generally used for one-way leasing, typically for small quantities of containers. The terms of short-term leases are customized for the specific requirements of the lessee. Short-term leases are sometimes used to reposition containers to high-demand locations and accordingly may contain terms that provide incentives to lessees. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 17.4% of our on-lease fleet, as measured in TEUs, was under short-term leases.
 
 
6

 
 
Finance Leases. Finance leases provide our lessees with an alternative method to finance their container acquisitions. Finance leases are long-term in nature and require relatively little customer service attention. They ordinarily require fixed payments over a defined period and generally provide lessees with a right to purchase the subject containers for a nominal amount at the end of the lease term. Per diem rates under finance leases include an element of repayment of capital and, therefore, typically are higher than per diem rates charged under long-term leases. Finance leases require the container lessee to keep the containers on lease for the entire term of the lease. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 3.9% of our on-lease fleet, as measured in TEUs, was under finance leases.

Our lease agreements contain general terms and conditions detailing standard rights and obligations, including requirements that lessees pay a per diem rate, depot charges, taxes and other charges when due, maintain containers in good condition, return containers in good condition in accordance with return conditions set forth in the lease agreement, use containers in compliance with all applicable laws, and pay us for the value of the container as determined by the lease agreement if the container is lost or destroyed. A default clause in our lease agreements gives us certain legal remedies in the event that a container lessee is in breach of lease terms.

Our lease agreements contain an exclusion of warranties clause and require lessees to defend and indemnify us in most instances from third-party claims arising out of the lessee’s use, operation, possession or lease of the containers. Lessees are required to maintain physical damage and comprehensive general liability insurance and to indemnify us against loss with respect to the containers. We also maintain our own contingent physical damage and third-party liability insurance that covers our containers during both on-lease and off-lease periods. All of our insurance coverage is subject to annual deductible provisions and per occurrence and aggregate limits.

Credit Control. We lease to container shipping lines, freight forwarders and other transportation companies that meet our credit criteria. Our credit policy sets different maximum exposure limits depending on our relationship and previous experience with each container lessee. Credit criteria may include, but are not limited to, trade route, country, social and political climate, assessments of net worth, asset ownership, bank and trade credit references, credit bureau reports, including those from Dynamar, operational history and financial strength. We monitor our lessees’ performance and our lease exposures on an ongoing basis. Our credit control processes are aided by the long payment experience we have with most of our lessees, our broad network of relationships in the shipping industry that provide current information about our lessees’ market reputations and our focus on collections.

Re-leasing, Logistics Management and Depot Management. We believe that managing the period after lease termination, in particular of our containers’ first lease, is one of the most important aspects of our business. Successful management of this period requires disciplined re-leasing capabilities, logistics management and depot management.

 
Re-leasing. Since our leases allow our lessees to return their containers, we typically lease a container several times during the time we manage it as part of our fleet. New containers can usually be leased with a limited sales and customer service infrastructure because initial leases for new containers typically cover large volumes of units and are fairly standardized transactions. Used containers, on the other hand, are typically leased in smaller transactions that are structured to accommodate pick-ups and returns in a variety of locations. Our utilization rates depend on our re-leasing abilities. Factors that affect our ability to re-lease used containers include the size of our lessee base, ability to anticipate lessee needs, our presence in relevant geographic locations and the level of service we provide our lessees. We believe that our global presence and long-standing relationships with over 280 container lessees as of December 31, 2011 provide us an advantage over our smaller competitors in re-leasing our containers.

 
Logistics Management. The shipping industry is characterized by large regional trade imbalances, with loaded containers generally flowing from export-oriented economies in Asia to other Asian countries, North America and Western Europe. Because of these trade imbalances, container shipping lines have an incentive to return leased containers in relatively low export areas to reduce the cost of shipping empty containers. We have managed this structural imbalance of inventories with the following approach:

 
Limiting or prohibiting container returns to low-demand areas. In order to minimize our repositioning costs, our leases typically include a list of the specific locations to which containers may be returned, limitations on the number of containers that may be returned to low-demand locations, high drop-off charges for returning containers to low-demand locations or a combination of these provisions;
 
 
Taking advantage of the secondary resale market. In order to maintain a younger fleet age profile, we have aggressively sold older containers when they are returned to low demand areas;
 
 
7

 
 
Developing country-specific leasing markets to utilize older containers in the portable storage market. In North America and Western Europe, we lease on a limited basis older containers for use as portable storage;
 
 
Seeking one-way lease opportunities to move containers from lower demand locations to higher demand locations. One-way leases may include incentives, such as free days, credits and damage waivers. The cost of offering these incentives is considerably less than the cost we would incur if we paid to reposition the containers; and
 
 
Paying to reposition our containers to higher demand locations. At locations where our inventories remain high, despite the efforts described above, we will selectively choose to ship excess containers to locations with higher demand.

 
Depot Management. As of December 31, 2011, we managed our container fleet through 225 independent container depot facilities located in 48 countries. Depot facilities are generally responsible for repairing containers when they are returned by lessees and for storing the containers while they are off-hire. Our operations group is responsible for managing our depot contracts and periodically visiting depot facilities to conduct inventory and repair audits. We also supplement our internal operations group with the use of independent inspection agents. As of December 31, 2011 a large majority of our off-lease inventory was located at depots that are able to report notice of container activity and damage detail via electronic data interchange, or EDI. We use the industry standard, ISO 9897 Container Equipment Data Exchange messages, for EDI reporting.

Most of the depot agency agreements follow a standard form and generally provide that the depot will be liable for loss or damage of containers and, in the event of loss or damage, will pay us the previously agreed loss value of the applicable containers. The agreements require the depots to maintain insurance against container loss or damage and we carry insurance to cover the risk when a depot’s insurance proves insufficient.

Our container repair standards and processes are generally managed in accordance with standards and procedures specified by the Institute of International Container Lessors, or the IICL. The IICL establishes and documents the acceptable interchange condition for containers and the repair procedures required to return damaged containers in acceptable interchange condition. When containers are returned by lessees, the depot arranges an inspection of the containers to assess the repairs required to return the containers to acceptable IICL condition. As part of the inspection process, damages are categorized either as lessee damage or normal wear and tear. Items typically designated as lessee damage include dents in the container, while items such as rust are typically designated as normal wear and tear. In general, lessees are responsible for the lessee damage portion of repair costs and we are responsible for normal wear and tear. For an additional fee, we sometimes offer our lessees a container damage protection plan, pursuant to which we assume financial responsibility for repair costs up to a pre-negotiated amount.

Investors. We have historically sold portfolios of leased containers to investment entities located in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Japan. The investment entities that typically have purchased containers from us are funds with many underlying investors. In Germany, these funds are frequently referred to as “KG Funds” although similar types of funds exist in other countries. These funds are formed by investment arrangers who act as financial intermediaries between investors and lessors of containers and other shipping assets. We are contacted on a regular basis by independent investment arrangers who are interested in assisting us with arranging sales of container portfolios. These independent investment arrangers will either seek out investments in leased assets on behalf of an investment fund or a group of investors or will work with us to identify an investor or group of investors to invest in a pool of leased assets. Our 80%-owned subsidiary, CAIJ, Inc., acts as investment arranger for sales of containers by us in Japan and manages container leases for investors in Japan.

Customer Concentration. Our customers include container lessees and container investors to whom we have sold container portfolios and for whom we manage containers.

 
Container Leasing Segment Concentration. Revenue from our ten largest container lessees represented 57.6% of the revenue from our container leasing segment for the year ended December 31, 2011, with revenue from our single largest container lessee accounting for 11.3%, or $12.5 million. This $12.5 million of revenue represented 9.9% of our total revenue for this period. The largest lessees of our owned fleet are often among the largest lessees of our managed fleet. The largest lessees of our managed fleet are responsible for a significant portion of the billings that generate our management fee revenue.
 
 
8


 
Container Management Segment Concentration. A substantial majority of our container management segment revenue is derived from container investors associated with five different investment arrangers located in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Japan. These arrangers are typically in the business of identifying and organizing investors for a variety of investment vehicles and compete with other institutions in these and other countries that perform similar functions. Container investors associated with the five investment arrangers represented 65.4% of our container management segment revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011. Revenue of $4.9 million from the two largest container investors represented 32.2% of revenue from our container management segment, or 3.9% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Proprietary Real-time Information Technology System. Our proprietary real-time information technology system tracks all of our containers individually by container number, provides design specifications for the containers, tracks on-lease and off-lease transactions, matches each on-lease container to a lease contract and each off-lease container to a depot contract, maintains the major terms for each lease contract, tracks accumulated depreciation, calculates the monthly bill for each container lessee and tracks and bills for container repairs. Most of our depot activity is reported electronically, which enables us to prepare container lessee bills and calculate financial reporting information more efficiently.

In addition, our system allows our lessees to conduct business with us through the Internet. This allows our lessees to review our container inventories, monitor their on-lease information, view design specifications and receive information on maintenance and repair. Many of our lessees receive billing and on- and off- lease information from us electronically.

Our Suppliers. We purchase most of our containers in China from manufacturers that have met our qualification requirements. We are currently not dependent on any single manufacturer. We have long-standing relationships with all of our major container suppliers. Our technical services personnel review the designs for our containers and periodically audit the production facilities of our suppliers. In addition, we contract with independent third-party inspectors to monitor production at factories while our containers are being produced. This provides an extra layer of quality control and helps ensure that our containers are produced in accordance with our specifications.

Our Competition

We compete primarily with other container leasing companies, including both larger and smaller lessors. We also compete with bank leasing companies offering long-term operating leases and finance leases, and container shipping lines, which sometimes lease their excess container inventory. Other participants in the shipping industry, such as container manufacturers, may also decide to enter the container leasing business. It is common for container shipping lines to utilize several leasing companies to meet their container needs and to minimize reliance on individual leasing companies.

Our competitors compete with us in many ways, including pricing, lease flexibility, supply reliability, customer service and the quality and condition of containers. Some of our competitors have greater financial resources than we do, or are affiliates of larger companies. We emphasize the quality of our fleet, supply reliability and high level of customer service to our container lessees. We focus on ensuring adequate container availability in high-demand locations, dedicate large portions of our organization to building relationships with lessees, maintain close day-to-day coordination with lessees and have developed a proprietary information technology system that allows our lessees to access real-time information about their containers.

Seasonality

We experience seasonal increased demand for containers in the several months leading up to the holiday season in the United States and Europe, and higher demand for purchasing containers by container investors toward the end of the calendar year. By comparison, our container rental revenue and management fee revenue have historically fluctuated much less than our sales of container portfolios, although container rental revenue and management revenue may also fluctuate significantly in future periods based upon the level of demand by container shipping lines for leased containers, our ability to maintain a high utilization rate of containers in our total fleet, changes in per diem rates for leases and fluctuations in operating expenses.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants to air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated sites. We could incur substantial costs, including cleanup costs, fines and third-party claims for property or natural resource damage and personal injury, as a result of violations of 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 or operator of a container may be liable for environmental damage, cleanup or other costs in the event of a spill or discharge of material from the container without regard to the fault of the owner or operator. While we typically maintain liability insurance coverage and typically require our lessees to provide us with indemnity against certain losses, the insurance coverage is subject to large deductibles, limits on maximum coverage and significant exclusions and may not be sufficient or available to protect against any or all liabilities and such indemnities may not cover or be sufficient to protect us against losses arising from environmental damage.

 
9

 
Regulation

We are subject to regulations promulgated in various countries, including the United States, seeking to protect the integrity of international commerce and prevent the use of containers for international terrorism or other illicit activities. For example, the Container Security Initiative, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and Operation Safe Commerce are among the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that are designed to enhance security for cargo moving throughout the international transportation system by identifying existing vulnerabilities in the supply chain and developing improved methods for ensuring the security of containerized cargo entering and leaving the United States. Moreover, the International Convention for Safe Containers, 1972, as amended, adopted by the International Maritime Organization, applies to new and existing containers and seeks to maintain a high level of safety of human life in the transport and handling of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations. As these regulations develop and change, we may incur increased compliance costs due to the acquisition of new, compliant containers and/or the adaptation of existing containers to meet new requirements imposed by such regulations.

Employees

As of December 31, 2011, we had 83 employees worldwide. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements. We believe that relations with our employees are good.
 
ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS

In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have identified the following risks and uncertainties that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Investors should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our business could be harmed by any of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks and investors may lose all or part of their investment. This section should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that we face. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or operating results could be harmed. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and the Container Leasing Industry
 
The demand for leased containers depends on many political, economic and other factors beyond our control.

Substantially all of our revenue comes from activities related to the leasing of containers. Our ability to continue successfully leasing containers to container shipping lines, earning management fees on leased containers and attracting container investors to purchase container portfolios from us depends in part upon the continued demand for leased containers. The demand for containers is affected by numerous factors.

Demand for containers depends largely on the rate of world trade and economic growth, with consumer demand being one of the most critical factors affecting this growth. Economic downturns in one or more countries, particularly in the United States, China and other countries with consumer-oriented economies, could result in a reduction in world containerized trade growth or in demand by container shipping lines for leased containers. Most of the container investor programs into which we sell container portfolios employ a certain amount of debt in order to increase investor equity returns. The more difficulty container investors have in being able to access debt for future investment programs, increases the potential that we may not be able to sell containers to investor programs in the future. In such case, our revenue, net income and cash flow will be lower, which will limit the level of growth in our operating fleet that we might otherwise be able to attain.
 
 
10


In Europe, the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, the loss of value by the Euro and related effects on the European banking system has contributed to growing instability in the European currency and credit markets. Further deterioration of European economic conditions or significant loss of value by the Euro could reduce demand for the Company’s European container assets and impact the ability of our European investors to access debt for future investments.

Economic recessions may result in a decline in the future demand for shipping containers by our customers and could lead to an increase in the number of containers returned to us, reduce our container rental revenue, reduce utilization of our fleet, increase our operating expenses (such as storage, bad debt and repositioning costs) and have an adverse effect on our future financial performance.  Much of our leasing business involves shipments of goods exported from Asia. From time to time, there have been economic disruptions, health scares (such as SARS, H1N1 flu), financial turmoil, natural disasters and political instability in Asia and in the Middle East. If these events were to occur in the future, they could adversely affect our container lessees and the general demand for shipping and lead to reduced demand for leased containers or otherwise adversely affect us. Other general factors affecting demand for leased containers, utilization and per diem rates include the following:

 
available supply and prices of new and used containers;
 
economic conditions and competitive pressures in the shipping industry;
 
shifting trends and patterns of cargo traffic;
 
the availability and terms of container financing;
 
fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency values;
 
overcapacity or undercapacity of the container manufacturers;
 
the lead times required to purchase containers;
 
the number of containers purchased by competitors and container lessees;
 
container ship fleet overcapacity or undercapacity;
 
•  
increased repositioning by container shipping lines of their own empty containers to higher-demand locations in lieu   of leasing containers from us;
 
consolidation or withdrawal of individual container lessees in the container shipping industry;
 
•  
import/export tariffs and restrictions;
 
•  
customs procedures, foreign exchange controls and other governmental regulations;
 
natural disasters that are severe enough to affect local and global economies;
 
political and economic factors;
 
currency exchange rates; and
 
future regulations which could restrict our current business practices and increase our cost of doing business.

All of these factors are inherently unpredictable and beyond our control. These factors will vary over time, often quickly and unpredictably, and any change in one or more of these factors may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Many of these factors also influence the decision by our customers to lease or buy containers. Should one or more of these factors influence our customers to buy a larger percentage of the containers they operate, our utilization rate would decrease, resulting in decreased revenue and increased storage and repositioning costs.
 
Recent turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could cause increases in oil prices or disruptions in oil supplies which could substantially affect global trade and our business.

Recent protests, violence and political instability in certain Middle East and North African countries have increased the risk of political turmoil spreading through the region.  Such events could cause the price of oil to increase or disrupt world oil supplies.  Our business is dependent on the volume of global trade.  Such events could cause substantial volatility in the U.S. and world financial markets and global trade, which could harm our business.

Our results of operations could be affected by natural events in the locations in which we or our customers or suppliers operate.
 
We have operations in locations subject to natural disasters such as severe weather and geological events that could disrupt our operations.  In addition, our suppliers and customers also have operations in such locations. Such an event occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011, where the Northern region of Japan experienced a severe earthquake, followed by a series of tsunamis.  In addition to the negative direct economic effects to the Japanese economy, the country's position as a major exporter in the world may result in a regional or global downturn in economic activity. Although the earthquake in Japan did not cause a disruption in our operations in the region, any future natural disasters in Japan or elsewhere in the world where we have business operations, could lead to disruption of the regional and global economies which could result in a decrease in demand for leased containers that would have an adverse impact on our financial condition and operations.
 
 
11


Our operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and may fluctuate significantly in the future.

Our revenue comes primarily from the leasing of containers owned by us, management fees earned on containers owned by container investors and gain on sale of container portfolios to container investors. Historically, our annual and quarterly total revenues, net income and cash flows have fluctuated significantly as a result of fluctuations in our gain on sale of container portfolios. Selling containers to container investors has very little associated incremental expense, which means that our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly depending upon the amount of gain or loss on sale of container portfolios, if any, we realize in a quarter.

Due to seasonal increased demand for containers in the several months leading up to the holiday season in the United States and Europe and higher demand for purchasing containers by container investors toward the end of the calendar year, a higher proportion of our container sales to investors has typically occurred in the second half of each calendar year. Although by comparison our container rental revenue and management fee revenue have historically fluctuated much less than our gain or loss on sale of container portfolios, container rental revenue and management revenue may also fluctuate significantly in future periods based upon the level of demand by container shipping lines for leased containers, our ability to maintain a high utilization rate of containers in our total fleet, changes in per diem rates for leases and fluctuations in operating expenses.
 
Our container portfolio sale activities in the future may result in lower gains or losses on sales of containers to investors.

Our revenue from gain on sale of container portfolios depends on our ability to make a profit on containers that we purchase and then resell to container investors. We typically enter into firm purchase orders for containers before we begin finding lessees for the containers, and the time necessary to lease these containers may be much longer than we anticipate. The price that a container investor is willing to pay for a portfolio of containers depends on a number of factors, including the historical and future expected cash flows from the portfolio to the container investor, the credit ratings of the lessees, the mix of short-term and long-term leases, the number of TEUs in the portfolio, the timing of the sale and alternative investment opportunities available to the container investor. If any of these factors changes unexpectedly during the period between the date of our purchase order to the date a container investor purchases the container from us, we may recognize a lower gain on sale of the containers to investors, sell them to container investors at a loss or retain them as part of our owned fleet.

Per diem rates for our leased containers may decrease, which would have a negative effect on our business and results of operations.

Per diem rates for our leased containers depend on a large number of factors, including the following:
 
 
the type and length of the lease;
 
•  
embedded residual assumptions;
 
the type and age of the container;
 
the number of new containers available for lease by our competitors;
 
the location of the container being leased;
 
the price of new containers; and
 
interest rates.

Because steel is the major component used in the construction of new containers, the price of new containers and per diem rates on new containers are highly correlated with the price of raw steel. In the late 1990s, new container prices and per diem rates declined because of, among other factors, a drop in worldwide steel prices and a shift in container manufacturing from Taiwan and Korea to areas in mainland China with lower labor costs. From 2003 to 2004, and again in the second half of 2006, container prices and leasing rates increased partially due to an increase in worldwide steel prices. Similarly, container prices during the first nine months of 2008 rose from their 2007 levels partially due to higher commodity prices. Steel prices decreased during 2008 and 2009 and there was a reduced demand for newly manufactured containers by our customers and competitors. In 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011 container prices increased due to limited production by container manufacturers and an increase in the price of steel. We cannot predict container prices in the future. If newly manufactured container prices decline, we may need to lease the containers at low return rates or at a loss.

Per diem rates may be negatively impacted by the entrance of new leasing companies, overproduction of new containers by manufacturers and over-buying of containers by container shipping lines and leasing competitors. For example, during 2001 and again in 2005, overproduction of new containers, coupled with a build-up of container inventories in Asia by leasing companies and container shipping lines, led to decreasing per diem rates and utilization rates. In 2007, competitive pressures also reduced per diem rates. In the event that the container shipping industry were to be characterized by overcapacity in the future, or if available supply of containers were to increase significantly as a result of, among other factors, new companies entering the business of leasing and selling containers, both utilization and per diem rates may decrease, adversely affecting our revenue and operating results.

 
12

 
A reduction in the willingness of container investors to have us manage their containers could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

A significant percentage of our revenue is attributable to management fees earned on services related to the leasing of containers owned by container investors. This revenue has very low direct operating costs associated with it. Accordingly, fluctuations in our management fee revenue in any period will have a significant impact on our profitability in that period. If we fail to meet performance requirements contained in our management agreements, container investors may seek to terminate these agreements.

If one or more container investors terminated their management agreements, our management revenue would be adversely affected and our ability to sell container portfolios to investors could be severely impaired. However, no container investor has notified us of its decision to terminate its management agreement and management does not currently expect any container investor to terminate its agreement. Moreover, our ability to continue to attract new management contracts depends upon a number of factors, including our ability to lease containers on attractive lease terms and to efficiently manage the repositioning and disposition of containers. In the event container investors perceive another container leasing company as better able to provide them with a stable and attractive rate of return, existing contracts may not be renewed, and we may lose management contract opportunities in the future, which could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Please see risk factor “We derive a substantial portion of our revenue for each of our container management and container leasing segments from a limited number of container investors and container lessees, respectively. The loss of, or reduction in business by, any of these container investors or container lessees could result in a significant loss of revenue and cash flow.”

Gains and losses associated with the disposition of used equipment may fluctuate and adversely affect our results of operations.

We regularly sell used, older containers upon lease expiration. The residual values of these containers therefore affect our profitability. The volatility of the residual values of such containers may be significant. These values depend upon, among other factors, raw steel prices, applicable maintenance standards, refurbishment needs, comparable new container costs, used container availability, used container demand, inflation rates, market conditions, materials and labor costs and equipment obsolescence. Most of these factors are outside of our control.

Containers are typically sold if it is in the best interest of the owner to do so after taking into consideration earnings prospects, book value, remaining useful life, repair condition, suitability for leasing or other uses and the prevailing local sales price for containers. Gains or losses on the disposition of used container equipment and the sales fees earned on the disposition of managed containers will also fluctuate and may be significant if we sell large quantities of used containers.

We may incur significant costs to reposition containers.

When lessees return containers to locations where supply exceeds demand, we routinely reposition containers to higher demand areas. Repositioning expenses vary depending on geographic location, distance, freight rates and other factors, and may not be fully covered by drop-off charges collected from the last lessee of the containers or pick-up charges paid by the new lessee. We seek to limit the number of containers that can be returned and impose surcharges on containers returned to areas where demand for such containers is not expected to be strong. However, market conditions may not enable us to continue such practices. In addition, we may not accurately anticipate which port locations will be characterized by high or low demand in the future, and our current contracts will not protect us from repositioning costs if ports that we expect to be high-demand ports turn out to be low-demand ports at the time leases expire.

Lessee defaults may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition by decreasing revenue and increasing storage, repositioning, collection and recovery expenses.

Our containers are leased to numerous container lessees. Lessees are required to pay rent and indemnify us for damage to or loss of containers. Lessees may default in paying rent and performing other obligations under their leases. A delay or diminution in amounts received under the leases (including leases on our managed containers), or a default in the performance of maintenance or other lessee obligations under the leases could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make payments on our debt.

Our cash flows from containers, principally container rental revenue, management fee revenue, gain on sale of container portfolios, gain on disposition of used equipment and commissions earned on the sale of containers on behalf of container investors, are affected significantly by the ability to collect payments under leases and the ability to replace cash flows from terminating leases by re-leasing or selling containers on favorable terms. All of these factors are subject to external economic conditions and the performance by lessees and service providers that are not within our control.

 
13

 
When lessees default, we may fail to recover all of our containers and the containers we do recover may be returned to locations where we will not be able to quickly re-lease or sell them on commercially acceptable terms. We may have to reposition these containers to other places where we can re-lease or sell them, which could be expensive depending on the locations and distances involved. Following repositioning, we may need to repair the containers and pay container depots for storage until the containers are re-leased. For our owned containers these costs will directly reduce our income before taxes and for our managed containers, lessee defaults will increase operating expenses, and thus reduce our management fee revenue. The Company is recovering equipment and incurring expenses for its account and for the account of container investors related to these customer defaults. We maintain insurance to reimburse the Company and container investors for such customer defaults. The insurance agreements are subject to deductibles of up to $3.0 million per occurrence and have significant exclusions and, therefore, may not be sufficient to prevent us from suffering material losses. Additionally, the increase in claims made by the Company under such insurance agreements may result in such insurance not being available to us in the future on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
 
Our level of indebtedness reduces our financial flexibility and could impede our ability to operate.

We intend to borrow additional amounts under our credit facilities to purchase containers and make acquisitions and other investments. We expect that we will maintain a significant amount of indebtedness on an ongoing basis. Our borrowings under our revolving credit facility are due and payable on September 25, 2014. The term loan agreement that we entered into with a consortium of banks in December 2010 allows us to borrow up to $300.0 million. Any unpaid principal on this loan is due on December 23, 2016. On September 9, 2011, our wholly-owned indirect subsidiary, CAL Funding I Limited, entered into a credit facility with a term of 15 years for $100.0 million of asset-backed warehouse notes, which facility may be increased to $200.0 million subject to certain conditions.

There is no assurance that we will be able to refinance our outstanding indebtedness, or if refinancing is available, that it can be obtained on terms that we can afford. The capital markets have recently experienced a high degree of volatility. To the extent that volatility in the capital markets continues, the Company’s access to capital may become limited and its borrowing costs may materially increase.

Our credit facilities require us to pay a variable rate of interest, which will increase or decrease based on variations in certain financial indexes, and fluctuations in interest rates can significantly decrease our profits. We do not have any hedge or similar contracts that would protect us against changes in interest rates.

The amount of our indebtedness could have important consequences for you, including the following:

 
requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make payments on our debt, thereby reducing funds available for operations, future business opportunities and other purposes;
 
•  
limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
 
making it more difficult for us to satisfy our debt obligations, and any failure to comply with such obligations, including financial and other restrictive covenants, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing such indebtedness, which could lead to, among other things, an acceleration of our indebtedness or foreclosure on the assets securing our indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition;
 
limiting our ability to borrow additional funds, or to sell assets to raise funds, if needed, for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes; and
 
increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, including changes in interest rates.

Our debt and capital lease obligations were $621.1 million as of December 31, 2011. We may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service and repay our debt and related obligations and have sufficient funds left over to achieve or sustain profitability in our operations, meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs or compete successfully in our industry

We may incur future asset impairment charges.

An asset impairment charge may result from the occurrence of unexpected adverse events or management decisions that impact our estimates of expected cash flows generated from our long-lived assets. We review our long-lived assets for impairment, when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. We may be required to recognize asset impairment charges in the future as a result of reductions in demand for specific container types, a weak economic environment, challenging market conditions, events related to particular customers or asset type, or as a result of asset or portfolio sale decisions by management.
 
 
14

 
The container investors that purchase containers from us are located in four countries and a change in the conditions and laws in any of these countries could significantly reduce demand by container investors to purchase containers.

The container investors that have historically purchased containers from us are located in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Japan. The willingness of these investors to continue to purchase containers from us will depend upon a number of factors outside of our control, including the laws in the countries in which they are domiciled, the tax treatment of an investment and restrictions on foreign investments. If a change in tax laws or other conditions makes investments in containers less attractive, we will need to identify new container investors. The process of identifying new container investors and selling containers to them could be lengthy and we may not be able to find new container investors in these circumstances, which would result in a substantial reduction in the amount of gain on sale of container portfolios and cash flow.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenue for each of our container management and container leasing segments from a limited number of container investors and container lessees, respectively. The loss of, or reduction in business by, any of these container investors or container lessees could result in a significant loss of revenue and cash flow.

We have derived, and believe that we will continue to derive, a significant portion of our revenue and cash flow from a limited number of container investors and container lessees. Our business comprises two reportable segments for financial statement reporting purposes: container management and container leasing. The operating results of each segment and details of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 are summarized in Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements included in this filing. Revenue for our container management segment comes primarily from container investors that purchase portfolios of containers and then pay us to manage the containers for them. Revenue for our container leasing segment comes primarily from container lessees that lease containers from our owned fleet.

Revenue from our ten largest container lessees represented 57.6% of the revenue from our container leasing segment for the year ended December 31, 2011, with revenue from our single largest container lessee accounting for 11.3%, or $12.5 million. This $12.5 million of revenue represented 9.9% of our total revenue for this period. As our business grows, we expect the proportion of revenue generated by our larger customers to continue to increase. The loss of such a customer would have a material adverse impact on our business.
 
We do not distinguish between our owned fleet and our managed fleet when we enter into leases with container shipping lines. Accordingly, the largest lessees of our owned fleet are typically among the largest lessees of our managed fleet, and our management fee revenue is based in part on the number of managed containers on lease to container lessees. As a result, the loss of, or default by, any of our largest container lessees could have a material adverse effect on the revenue for both our container management segment and our container leasing segment. In addition, many of the management agreements with our container investors contain performance criteria, such as minimum per diem net income per container or minimum utilization rates for the pool of containers owned by the container investors. In the event we fail to meet one or more of these criteria in a management agreement, the independent investment arrangers who typically act on behalf of container investors may have the right to terminate the management agreement. In the year ended December 31, 2011, container investors associated with our largest five investment arrangers represented 65.4% of our container management segment revenue. If we were to not perform our obligations as a container manager under the management agreements controlled by an independent investment arranger, the independent investment manager could decide to terminate all of the management agreements under which we have not performed our obligations. Managed containers associated with our single largest container investor accounted for 17.5%, or $2.7 million, of revenue from our container management segment during the year ended December 31, 2011. The $2.7 million of revenue represented 2.1% of our total revenue for this period. The termination of the management agreements under the control of a single investment arranger or the loss of our largest container investor as a management services customer could have a material adverse effect on the revenue for our container management segment.

Consolidation and concentration in the container shipping industry could decrease the demand for leased containers.

We primarily lease containers to container shipping lines. We believe container shipping lines require two TEUs of available containers for every TEU of capacity on their container ships. The container shipping lines have historically relied on a large number of leased containers to satisfy their needs. Consolidation of major container shipping lines could create efficiencies and decrease the demand that container shipping lines have for leased containers because they may be able to fulfill a larger portion of their needs through their owned container fleets. It could also create concentration of credit risk if the number of our container lessees decreases due to consolidation. Additionally, large container shipping lines with significant resources could choose to manufacture their own containers, which would decrease their demand for leased containers and could have an adverse impact on our business.

As we increase the number of containers in our owned fleet, we will be subject to significantly greater ownership risks.

The number of containers in our owned fleet fluctuates over time as we purchase new containers and sell containers to container investors or into the secondary resale market. As part of our strategy, we plan to increase both the number of owned containers as well as the number of managed containers in our fleet. We believe we will be able to find container investors to purchase the desired portion of the new containers that we purchase and lease. If we are unable to locate container investors to purchase these containers, we will operate the containers as part of our owned fleet. Ownership of containers entails greater risk than management of containers for container investors, because as we increase the number of containers in our owned fleet, we are subject to an increased level of risk from loss or damage to equipment, financing costs, changes in per diem rates, re-leasing risk, changes in utilization rates, lessee defaults, repositioning costs, storage expenses, impairment charges and changes in sales price upon disposition of containers.

 
15

 
As we increase the number of containers in our owned fleet we will have significantly more capital at risk and may not be able to satisfy the future capital requirements of our container management business.

As we increase the number of containers in our owned fleet, either as a result of planned growth in our owned fleet or as a result of our inability to sell containers to container investors, we may need to maintain higher debt balances which may adversely affect our return on equity and reduce our capital resources, including our ability to borrow money to continue expanding our managed fleet. Future borrowings may not be available under our credit facilities or we may not be able to refinance the facility, if necessary, on commercially reasonable terms or at all. We may need to raise additional debt or equity capital in order to fund our business, expand our sales activities and/or respond to competitive pressures. We may not have access to the capital resources we desire or need to fund our business. These effects, among others, may reduce our profitability and adversely affect our plans to continue the expansion of the container management portion of our business.

Our container lessees prefer newer containers, so to stay competitive we must continually add new containers to our fleet. If we are unable to make necessary capital expenditures, our fleet of containers may be less desirable to our container lessees and our profitability could suffer.

Changes in market price, availability or transportation costs of containers could adversely affect our ability to maintain our supply of containers.

We currently purchase almost all of our containers from manufacturers based in China. If it became more expensive for us to procure containers in China or to transport these containers at a low cost from China to the locations where they are needed by our container lessees because of changes in exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and Chinese Yuan, further consolidation among container suppliers, increased tariffs imposed by the United States or other governments or for any other reason, we may have to seek alternative sources of supply. While we are not currently dependent on any single current manufacturer of our containers, we may not be able to make alternative arrangements quickly enough to meet our container needs, and the alternative arrangements may increase our costs. The availability of containers depends significantly on the availability and cost of steel in China. If a shortage of steel develops either in China or worldwide, container manufacturers may not be able to meet our demand for new containers which would limit our ability to add new containers to our fleet.
 
Terrorist attacks, the threat of such attacks, piracy or the outbreak of war and hostilities could negatively impact our operations and profitability and may expose us to liability.

Terrorist attacks and the threat of such attacks have contributed to economic instability in the United States and elsewhere, and further acts or threats of terrorism, violence, war or hostilities could similarly affect world trade and the industries in which we and our container lessees operate. For example, worldwide containerized trade dramatically decreased in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, which affected demand for leased containers. In addition, terrorist attacks, threats of terrorism, piracy or threats thereof, violence, war or hostilities may directly impact ports, depots, our facilities or those of our suppliers or container lessees and could impact our sales and our supply chain. A severe disruption to the worldwide ports system and flow of goods could result in a reduction in the level of international trade and lower demand for our containers. We maintain liability insurance which in the aggregate provides coverage of up to $50.0 million that we believe would apply to claims arising from a terrorist attack, and our lease agreements require our lessees to indemnify us for all costs, liabilities and expenses arising out of the use of our containers, including property damage to the containers, damage to third-party property and personal injury. However, our lessees may not have adequate resources to honor their indemnity obligations and our insurance coverage is subject to large deductibles and significant exclusions. Accordingly, we may not be protected in all cases from liability (and expenses in defending against claims of liability) arising from a terrorist attack.

Our senior executives are critical to the success of our business and our inability to retain them or recruit new personnel could adversely affect our business.

Most of our senior executives and other management-level employees have over ten years of industry experience. We rely on this knowledge and experience in our strategic planning and in our day-to-day business operations. Our success depends in large part upon our ability to retain our senior management, the loss of one or more of whom could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our success also depends on our ability to retain our experienced sales force and technical personnel as well as recruiting new skilled sales, marketing and technical personnel. Competition for these individuals in our industry is intense and we may not be able to successfully recruit, train or retain qualified personnel. If we fail to retain and recruit the necessary personnel, our business and our ability to obtain new container lessees and provide acceptable levels of customer service could suffer.

 
16

 
We rely on our proprietary information technology system to conduct our business. If this system fails to adequately perform its functions, or if we experience an interruption in its operation, our business, results of operations and financial prospects could be adversely affected.

The efficient operation of our business is highly dependent on our proprietary information technology system. We rely on our system to track transactions, such as repair and depot charges and changes to book value, and movements associated with each of our owned or managed containers. We use the information provided by this system in our day-to-day business decisions in order to effectively manage our lease portfolio and improve customer service. We also rely on it for the accurate tracking of the performance of our managed fleet for each container investor. The failure of our system to perform as we expect could disrupt our business, adversely affect our results of operations and cause our relationships with lessees and container investors to suffer. In addition, our information technology system is vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power loss and computer systems failures and viruses. Any such interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial prospects.

We will require a significant amount of cash to service and repay our outstanding indebtedness and our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make payments on and repay our indebtedness and to fund planned capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. Based on the balance of our long-term indebtedness as of December 31, 2011, we will require approximately $50.0 million to service our current indebtedness in the year ending December 31, 2012. It is possible that:

 
our business will not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service and repay our debt and to fund working capital requirements and planned capital expenditures;
 
 
future borrowings will not be available under our current or future credit facilities in an amount sufficient to enable us to refinance our debt; or
 
 
we will not be able to refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Our credit facilities impose, and the terms of any future indebtedness may impose, significant operating, financial and other restrictions on us and our subsidiaries.

Restrictions imposed by our credit facilities will limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to:

 
incur additional indebtedness;
 
pay dividends on or redeem or repurchase our stock;
 
enter into new lines of business;
 
issue capital stock of our subsidiaries;
 
make loans and certain types of investments;
 
create liens;
 
sell certain assets or merge with or into other companies;
 
enter into certain transactions with stockholders and affiliates; and
 
restrict dividends, distributions or other payments from our subsidiaries.

These restrictions could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs and pursue available business opportunities. A breach of any of these restrictions, including breach of financial covenants, could result in a default in respect of the related indebtedness. If a default occurs, the relevant lenders could elect to declare the indebtedness, together with accrued interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable and proceed against any collateral securing that indebtedness, which will constitute substantially all of our container assets.

We face extensive competition in the container leasing industry.

We may be unable to compete favorably in the highly competitive container leasing and container management businesses. We compete with a number of major leasing companies, many smaller lessors, manufacturers of container equipment, companies and financial institutions offering finance leases, promoters of container ownership and leasing as a tax-efficient investment, container shipping lines, which sometimes lease their excess container stocks, and suppliers of alternative types of containers for freight transport. Some of these competitors have greater financial resources and access to capital than we do. Additionally, some of these competitors may have large, underutilized inventories of containers, which could lead to significant downward pressure on per diem rates, margins and prices of containers.
 
 
17

 
Our business requires large amounts of working capital to fund our operations.  We are aware that some of our competitors have recently had ownership changes.  As a consequence, these competitors may have greater resources available to aggressively seek to expand their market share.  This could include offering lease rates with which we cannot effectively compete.  We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against these competitors.

Competition among container leasing companies depends upon many factors, including, among others, per diem rates; lease terms, including lease duration, drop-off restrictions and repair provisions; customer service; and the location, availability, quality and individual characteristics of containers. New entrants into the leasing business have been attracted by the high rate of containerized trade growth in recent years. New entrants may be willing to offer pricing or other terms that we are unwilling or unable to match. As a result, we may not be able to maintain a high utilization rate or achieve our growth plans.
 
Our entry into the railcar leasing business could have an adverse effect on our overall profitability if we do not succeed in this new line of business.

The railcar leasing business involves different customers, equipment, storage and handling facilities and other operating issues that are different from our traditional container leasing business. This business is competitive and dominated by well capitalized industry players. Even though we have hired experienced executives to manage our railcar leasing business, we cannot assure you that this new business segment will be successful and profitable.

The international nature of our business exposes us to numerous risks.

Our ability to enforce lessees’ obligations will be subject to applicable law in the jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought. As containers are predominantly located on international waterways, it is not possible to predict, with any degree of certainty, the jurisdictions in which enforcement proceedings may be commenced. For example, repossession from defaulting lessees may be difficult and more expensive in jurisdictions in which laws do not confer the same security interests and rights to creditors and lessors as those in the United States and in jurisdictions where recovery of containers from defaulting lessees is more cumbersome. As a result, the relative success and expedience of enforcement proceedings with respect to containers in various jurisdictions cannot be predicted.

We are also subject to risks inherent in conducting business across national boundaries, any one of which could adversely impact our business. These risks include:

 
regional or local economic downturns;
 
changes in governmental policy or regulation;
 
restrictions on the transfer of funds into or out of the country;
 
import and export duties and quotas;
 
domestic and foreign customs and tariffs;
 
international incidents;
 
war, hostilities, terrorist attacks, piracy, or the threat of any of these events;
 
government instability;
 
nationalization of foreign assets;
 
government protectionism;
 
compliance with export controls, including those of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
 
compliance with import procedures and controls, including those of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security;
 
consequences from changes in tax laws, including tax laws pertaining to the container investors;
 
potential liabilities relating to foreign withholding taxes;
 
labor or other disruptions at key ports;
 
difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations; and
 
restrictions on our ability to own or operate subsidiaries, make investments or acquire new businesses in these jurisdictions.

One or more of these factors could impair our current or future international operations and, as a result, harm our overall business.
 
 
18


We may incur costs associated with new security regulations, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to regulations promulgated in various countries, including the United States, seeking to protect the integrity of international commerce and prevent the use of containers for international terrorism or other illicit activities. For example, the Container Security Initiative, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and Operation Safe Commerce are among the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that are designed to enhance security for cargo moving throughout the international transportation system by identifying existing vulnerabilities in the supply chain and developing improved methods for ensuring the security of containerized cargo entering and leaving the United States. Moreover, the International Convention for Safe Containers, 1972 (CSC), as amended, adopted by the International Maritime Organization, applies to new and existing containers and seeks to maintain a high level of safety of human life in the transport and handling of containers by providing uniform international safety regulations. As these regulations develop and change, we may incur compliance costs due to the acquisition of new, compliant containers and/or the adaptation of existing containers to meet new requirements imposed by such regulations. Additionally, certain companies are currently developing or may in the future develop products designed to enhance the security of containers transported in international commerce. Regardless of the existence of current or future government regulations mandating the safety standards of intermodal shipping containers, our competitors may adopt such products or our container lessees may require that we adopt such products. In responding to such market pressures, we may incur increased costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We operate in numerous tax jurisdictions. A taxing authority within any of these jurisdictions may challenge our operating structure which could result in additional taxes, interest and penalties that could materially impact our financial conditions and our future financial results.

We have implemented a number of structural changes with respect to our international subsidiaries in an effort to reduce our income tax obligations in countries in which we operate. There can be no assurance that our tax structure and the amount of taxes we pay in any of these countries will not be challenged by the taxing authorities in these countries. If the tax authorities challenge our tax structure or the amount of taxes paid, we could incur substantial expenses associated with defending our tax position as well as expenses associated with the payment of any additional taxes, penalties and interest that may be imposed on us. The payment of these amounts could have an adverse material effect on our business and results of operations.

Environmental liability may adversely affect our business and financial condition.
 
We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing the discharge of pollutants to air, ground and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated sites. 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 or operator of a container may be liable for environmental damage, cleanup or other costs in the event of a spill or discharge of material from the container without regard to the fault of the owner or operator. While we typically maintain liability insurance and typically require lessees to provide us with indemnity against certain losses, the insurance coverage may not be sufficient, or available, to protect against any or all liabilities and such indemnities may not be sufficient to protect us against losses arising from environmental damage. Moreover, our lessees may not have adequate resources, or may refuse to honor their indemnity obligations and our insurance coverage is subject to large deductibles, coverage limits and significant exclusions.Additionally, many countries, including the United States, restrict, prohibit or otherwise regulate the use of chemical refrigerants due to their ozone depleting and global warming effects.  Over 99% of our refrigerated containers currently use R134A or 404A refrigerant. While R134A and 404A do not contain CFCs (which have been restricted since 1995), the European Union has instituted regulations to phase out the use of R134A in automobile air conditioning systems beginning in 2011 due to concern that the release of R134A into the atmosphere may contribute to global warming. While the European Union regulations do not currently restrict the use of R134A in refrigerated containers or trailers, it is possible that the phase out of R134A in automobile air conditioning systems will be extended to intermodal containers in the future. Further, certain manufacturers of refrigerated containers, including the largest manufacturer of cooling machines for refrigerated containers, have begun testing units that utilize alternative refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide, that may have less global warming potential than R134A and 404A. If future regulations prohibit the use or servicing of containers using R134A or 404A refrigerants, we could be forced to incur large retrofitting expenses. In addition, refrigerated containers that are not retrofitted may become difficult to lease and command lower rental rates and disposal prices.
 
Furthermore, the insulation foam in the walls of refrigerated containers requires the use of a blowing agent that contains CFCs. Manufacturers are in various stages of phasing out the use of this blowing agent in the manufacturing process, however, if future regulations prohibit the use or servicing of containers with insulation manufactured with this blowing agent we could be forced to incur large retrofitting expenses and those that are not retrofitted may become more difficult to lease and command lower rental rates and disposal prices.
 
 
19


Use of counterfeit and improper refrigerant in refrigeration machines for refrigerated containers could result in irreparable damage to the refrigeration machines, death or personal injury, and materially impair the value of our refrigerated container fleet.

There are reports of counterfeit and improper refrigerant gas being used to service refrigeration machines in depots in Asia. The use of this counterfeit gas has led to the explosion of several refrigeration machines within the industry. Three of these incidents have resulted in personal injury or death, and in all cases, the counterfeit gas has led to irreparable damage to the refrigeration machines.

There are currently no safe testing procedures available to determine whether the counterfeit gas has been used to service a refrigeration machine. As a result, refrigerated containers that were used, or whose refrigeration machinery was serviced in jurisdictions where counterfeit or improper refrigerant gas was found, are being isolated and idled until such a test can be developed to confirm that the proper refrigerant gas is in the refrigeration machines. Until such tests and procedures are developed and implemented, our ability to lease certain refrigerated containers could be limited. If such tests or procedures are not developed quickly and proven safe and effective or if the use of such counterfeit and improper refrigerant is more widespread than currently believed, the value of our refrigerated container fleet and our ability to lease refrigerated containers could be materially impaired and could therefore have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
 
We may face litigation involving our management of containers for container investors.

We manage containers for container investors under management agreements that are negotiated with each container investor. We make no assurances to container investors that they will make any amount of profit on their investment or that our management activities will result in any particular level of income or return of their initial capital. We believe that as the number of containers that we manage for container investors increases, there is a possibility that we may be drawn into litigation relating to the investments. Although our management agreements contain contractual protections and indemnities that are designed to limit our exposure to such litigation, such provisions may not be effective and we may be subject to a significant loss in a successful litigation by a container investor.

Our 80 percent ownership in CAIJ, Inc., a container investment arranger and advisor focused on arranging container investments with Japanese investors, may subject us to material litigation risks and damage to our professional reputation as a result of litigation allegations and negative publicity.

CAIJ, Inc. (CAIJ) was formed and began operation in 2007 for the purpose of arranging investments in our containers with Japanese investors. CAIJ has arranged a significant amount of investments and we expect that CAIJ will arrange more container investments in the future. Because we are the seller and manager of the containers that will be sold to investors on whose behalf CAIJ acts as an arranger and advisor, there is an inherent conflict of interest between us and CAIJ. We disclose this inherent conflict of interest to container investors prior to any sale to them, but we do not provide them with any assurances that they will realize a specific or any investment return on the containers purchased from, and managed by, us. In the event that these container investors realize losses on their investments or believe that the returns on their investments are lower than expected, they may make claims, including bringing lawsuits, against CAIJ or us for our alleged failure to act in their best interests. Any such claims could result in the payment of legal expenses and damages and also damage our reputation with container investors and potential container investors and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Certain liens may arise on our containers.

Depot operators, repairmen and transporters may come into possession of our containers from time to time and have sums due to them from the lessees or sub-lessees of the containers. In the event of nonpayment of those charges by the lessees or sub-lessees, we may be delayed in, or entirely barred from, repossessing the containers, or be required to make payments or incur expenses to discharge liens on our containers.

The lack of an international title registry for containers increases the risk of ownership disputes.

There is no internationally recognized system of recordation or filing to evidence our title to containers nor is there an internationally recognized system for filing security interest in containers. Although we have not incurred material problems with respect to this lack of internationally recognized system, the lack of an international title recordation system with respect to containers could result in disputes with lessees, end-users, or third parties who may improperly claim ownership of the containers.
 
 
20


As a U.S. corporation, we are subject to U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. Treasury Sanctions Regulations regarding doing business in or with certain nations and specially designated nationals.

As a U.S. corporation, we are subject to U.S. Executive Orders and U.S. Treasury Sanctions Regulations restricting or prohibiting business dealings in or with certain nations and with certain specially designated nationals (individuals and legal entities). Any determination that we have violated such Executive Orders and U.S. Treasury Sanctions Regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

As a U.S. corporation, we are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and a determination that we violated this act may affect our business and operations adversely.

As a U.S. corporation, we are subject to the regulations imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which generally prohibits U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business. Any determination that we have violated the FCPA could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may pursue acquisitions or joint ventures in the future that could present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs.

We may pursue acquisitions and joint ventures in the future. Acquisitions involve a number of risks and present financial, managerial and operational challenges, including:

 
potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management;
 
 
difficulty integrating personnel and financial and other systems;
 
 
hiring additional management and other critical personnel; and
 
 
increasing the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our operations.
 
In addition, we may encounter unforeseen obstacles or costs in the integration of acquired businesses. Also, the presence of one or more material liabilities of an acquired company that are unknown to us at the time of acquisition may have a material adverse effect on our business. Acquisitions or joint ventures may not be successful, and we may not realize any anticipated benefits from acquisitions or joint ventures.

A new standard for lease accounting under U.S. GAAP has been proposed which could have a financial impact on our business and may negatively impact the market behavior of our customers.

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. In 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued a jointly developed proposal on lease accounting that could significantly change the accounting and reporting for lease arrangements. The main objective of the proposed standard is to create a new accounting model for both lessees and lessors, replacing the existing concepts of operating and capital leases with models based on “right-of-use” concepts. The new models would result in the elimination of most off-balance sheet lease financing for lessees. Lessors would apply one of two models depending upon whether the lessor retains exposure to significant risks or benefits of the underlying assets. The FASB’s document is in the form of an exposure draft of a proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases (Topic 840) (ED), issued in August 2010, and would apply to the accounting for all leases, with some exceptions. The ED also includes expanded disclosures including quantitative and qualitative information to enable users to understand the amount and timing of expected cash flows, for both lessors and lessees. After considering constituents’ comments, the FASB and IASB agreed in January 2011 that more work was needed to address the shortfalls of the lessor accounting proposals but tentatively decided to initially limit lessor accounting discussions to only those issues that are critical to both lessees and lessors. The FASB and IASB met in October 2011 and reached tentative decisions on (1) an expansion of lessor’s investment property scope exception, (2) revisions to the “receivable and residual” approach, (3) lessor presentation issues, and (4) lessee and lessor transition. The FASB and IASB met again in February 2012 and discussed, primarily, the subsequent measurement of the lessee's right-of-use asset.

The boards’ decisions are tentative and subject to change.  Once the boards complete their redeliberations an exposure draft will be issued for public comment.  A revised exposure draft is targeted for the second half of 2012.  The effective date has not yet been discussed; however, it will likely not be before 2016. If there are future changes in GAAP with regard to how we and our customers must account for leases, it could change the way we and our customers conduct our businesses. As a result, we are unable to determine how the proposed changes could affect our business, but they could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
 
 
21


In the future, we may be required to pay personal holding company taxes, which would have an adverse effect on our cash flows, results of operations and financial condition.

The Internal Revenue Code requires any company that qualifies as a “personal holding company” to pay personal holding company taxes in addition to regular income taxes. A company qualifies as a personal holding company if (1) more than 50.0% of the value of the company’s stock is held by five or fewer individuals and (2) at least 60.0% of the company’s adjusted ordinary gross income constitutes personal holding company income, which, in our case, includes adjusted income from the lease of our containers. If we or any of our subsidiaries are a personal holding company, our undistributed personal holding company income, which is generally taxable income with certain adjustments, including a deduction for federal income taxes and dividends paid, will be taxed at a rate of 15.0%. Based upon our operating results, we were not classified as a personal holding company for the year ended December 31, 2011. Whether or not we or any of our subsidiaries are classified as personal holding companies in future years will depend upon the amount of our personal holding company income and the percentage of our outstanding common stock that will be beneficially owned by Mr. Hiromitsu Ogawa, who beneficially owned 34.4% of our common stock as of December 31, 2011. At some point in the future we could become liable for personal holding company taxes. The payment of personal holding company taxes in the future would have an adverse effect on our cash flows, results of operations and financial condition.
 
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates could reduce our profitability.
 
 
Most of our revenues and costs are billed in U.S. dollars.  Our operations and used container sales in locations outside of the U.S. have some exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, and trade growth and the direction of trade flows can be influenced by large changes in relative currency values. In addition, most of our equipment fleet is manufactured in China. Although the purchase price is in U.S. dollars, our manufacturers pay labor and other costs in the local currency, the Chinese Yuan. To the extent that our manufacturers' costs increase due to changes in the valuation of the Chinese Yuan, the dollar price we pay for equipment could be affected. Adverse or large exchange rate fluctuations may negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
Risks Related to Our Stock

Our stock price has been volatile and may remain volatile.

The trading price of our common stock may be subject to wide fluctuations in response to quarter-to-quarter variations in operating results, new services by us or our competitors, general conditions in the shipping industry and the intermodal container sales and leasing markets, changes in earnings estimates by analysts, or other events or factors. Broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Since the initial public offering of our stock at $15.00 per share on May 16, 2007, the market price of our stock has fluctuated significantly from a high of $28.57 per share to a low of $2.12 per share through February 29, 2012. Since the trading volume on our stock is not significant on a daily basis, shareholders may experience difficulties in liquidating our stock. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock may include:

 
variations in our financial results;
 
changes in financial estimates or investment recommendations by any securities analysts following our business;
 
the public’s response to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission;
 
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
 
future sales of common stock by us or our directors, officers or significant stockholders or the perception such sales  may occur;
 
our ability to achieve operating results consistent with securities analysts’ projections;
 
the operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors may deem comparable to us;
 
recruitment or departure of key personnel;
 
our ability to timely address changing container lessee preferences;
 
container market and industry factors;
 
general stock market conditions; and
 
other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism or responses to such events.

In addition, if the market for companies deemed similar to us or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business or financial results. The trading price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us.

 
22


Future new sales of our common stock by us or outstanding shares by existing stockholders, or the perception that there will be future sales of new shares from the company or existing stockholders, may cause our stock price to decline and impair our ability to obtain capital through future stock offerings.

A substantial number of shares of our common stock held by our current stockholders could be sold into the public market at anytime. In addition, the perception of, or actual sale of, new shares may materially and adversely affect our stock price and could impair our ability to obtain future capital through an offering of equity securities.

We do not currently pay dividends to holders of our common stock, and we cannot assure you that we will pay dividends to holders of our common stock in the future.

Although our board of directors may consider a dividend policy under which we would pay cash dividends on our common stock, any determinations by us to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the future will be based primarily upon our financial condition, results of operations, business requirements, tax considerations and our board of directors' continuing determination that the declaration of dividends under the dividend policy are in the best interests of our stockholders and are in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the dividend program.  Consequently, investors may be required to rely on sales of their common stock as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment.  The terms of our credit agreements contain provisions permitting the payment of cash dividends subject to certain limitations.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they change their financial estimates or investment recommendation, the price of our stock could decline.

The trading market for our common shares will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control or influence the decisions or opinions of these analysts and analysts may not cover us.

If any analyst who covers us changes his or her financial estimates or investment recommendation, the price of our stock could decline. If any analyst ceases coverage of our company, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

Our founder, Mr. Hiromitsu Ogawa, will continue to have substantial control over us and could act in a manner with which other stockholders may disagree or that is not necessarily in the interests of other stockholders.

Based upon beneficial ownership as of December 31, 2011, Mr. Ogawa beneficially owns approximately 34.4 % of our outstanding common stock. As a result, he may have the ability to determine the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, he may have the ability to control the management and affairs of our company. Mr. Ogawa may have interests that are different from yours. For example, he may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree or which are not in your interests. The concentration of ownership could delay or prevent a change in control of us or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could reduce the price of our common stock. In addition, as Chairman of our Board of Directors, Mr. Ogawa may influence decisions to maintain our existing management and directors in office, delay or prevent changes of control of our company, or support or reject other management and board proposals that are subject to stockholder approval, such as amendments to our employee stock plans and approvals of significant financing transactions.
 
Future sales of shares of our common stock by us or our existing stockholders under a shelf registration statement could cause our stock price to decline.
 
We filed a Form S-3 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that became effective on May 31, 2011 and established a universal shelf registration for up to $250.0 million of debt and equity securities by us and the sale of up to 2.5 million shares of our common stock by selling stockholders. The price of our shares could be negatively impacted if we or any of the selling stockholders undertake an offering to sell shares pursuant to this shelf registration.
 
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us and consequently decrease the market value of an investment in our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware corporate law each contain provisions that could delay, defer or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management. Among other things, these provisions:

 
authorize us to issue preferred stock that can be created and issued by the board of directors without prior stockholder approval, with rights senior to those of our common stock;
 
 
23

 
 
permit removal of directors only for cause by the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote at the election of directors and allow only the directors to fill a vacancy on the board of directors;
 
prohibit stockholders from calling special meetings of stockholders;
 
prohibit stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
 
allow the authorized number of directors to be changed only by resolution of the board of directors;
 
establish advance notice requirements for submitting nominations for election to the board of directors and for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at a meeting;
 
classify our board of directors into three classes so that only a portion of our directors are elected each year; and
 
allow our directors to amend our bylaws.

These provisions could discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions, which may prevent a change of control or changes in our management that a stockholder might consider favorable. In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of us. Any delay or prevention of a change in control or change in management that stockholders might otherwise consider to be favorable could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
 
We are required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and any adverse results from such evaluation could result in adverse regulatory consequences, a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports and have an adverse effect on our stock price.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, as directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and a report by our independent auditors rendering an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain the adequacy and effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related regulations. Although our management has concluded that adequate internal control procedures are currently in place, no system of internal control can provide absolute assurance that the financial statements are accurate and free of errors. As a result, the risk exists that our internal control may not detect all errors or omissions in the financial statements. Our independent auditors must annually report on the effectiveness of such internal controls over financial reporting. Our management may not be able to effectively and timely maintain controls and procedures that adequately respond to the increased regulatory compliance and reporting requirements that will be applicable to us as a public company. If we are not able to implement the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, our independent auditors may not be able to certify as to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. This result may subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, and could lead to a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. We could also suffer a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements if we disclose material weaknesses in our internal controls. In addition, if we fail to develop and maintain effective controls and procedures, we may be unable to provide the required financial information in a timely and reliable manner or otherwise comply with the standards applicable to us as a public company. Any failure by us to timely provide the required financial information could materially and adversely impact our financial condition and the market value of our stock.

We will incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies, which could adversely affect our operating results.

As a public company we incur significant legal, accounting and other costs associated with public company reporting requirements.  In addition to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, rules and regulations implemented by the SEC and NYSE, and new rules and regulations resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act are being implemented that could result in substantial compliance costs, which could adversely affect our operating results.

 
24

 
ITEM 1B.
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
 
None.
 
ITEM 2.

Office Locations.  As of December 31, 2011, we operated our business in 13 offices in 11 different countries including the U.S. We have two offices in the U.S. including our headquarters in San Francisco, California. We have 11 offices outside the U.S., including an office operated by a third party corporate services provider in Bermuda.  We lease all of our office space except for the office in Bermuda. In addition, we have agents in Asia, Europe, South Africa, Australia and South America. Each of our offices is used for both our container leasing and container management segments, except for our office in Germany which is used only for container leasing operations.

The following table summarizes the 12 facilities we leased as of December 31, 2011:

Office Location—U.S. Properties

San Francisco, CA (Headquarters)
Charleston, SC

Office Location—International Properties

Brentwood, United Kingdom
St. Michael, Barbados
Antwerp, Belgium
Hong Kong
Singapore
Delmenhorst, Germany
Tokyo, Japan (two offices)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Taipei, Taiwan
 
ITEM  3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time we may become a party to litigation matters arising in connection with the normal course of our business. While we cannot predict the outcome of these matters, in the opinion of our management, any liability arising from these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our business. Nevertheless, unexpected adverse future events, such as an unforeseen development in our existing proceedings, a significant increase in the number of new cases or changes in our current insurance arrangements could result in liabilities that have a material adverse impact on our business.
 
ITEM  4.
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.
 
 
25

 
PART II

ITEM  5.
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “CAP” since May 16, 2007. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our common stock.

The following table reflects the range of high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, in each quarter of the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010:

 
 
High
 
 
Low
 
2011:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fourth Quarter
 
$
16.81
 
 
$
10.64
 
Third Quarter
 
$
21.11
 
 
$
10.94
 
Second Quarter
 
$
28.57
 
 
$
19.44
 
First Quarter
 
$
26.99
 
 
$
18.43
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fourth Quarter
 
$
21.46
 
 
$
14.60
 
Third Quarter
 
$
15.57
 
 
$
11.36
 
Second Quarter
 
$
15.35
 
 
$
11.32
 
First Quarter
 
$
12.42
 
 
$
7.40
 

As of February 29, 2012, the closing price of our common stock was $20.15 as reported on the NYSE. On that date, there were 25 registered holders of record of the common stock and 2,905 beneficial holders, based on information obtained from our transfer agent.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid dividends on our capital stock. Our board of directors may consider adopting a dividend policy. Any determinations by us to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the future will be based primarily upon our financial condition, results of operations, business requirements, tax considerations and our board of directors’ continuing determination that the declaration of dividends under the dividend policy are in the best interests of our stockholders and are in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the dividend program. In the absence of such a policy, we intend to retain future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business.  Our financing arrangements also contain restrictions on our ability to pay cash dividends.
 
 
26


PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The graph below compares cumulative shareholder returns for the Company as compared with the Russell 2000 Stock Index and the Dow Jones Transportation Stock Index for the period from May 16, 2007 (the date CAI International, Inc. common stock began trading at the NYSE) to December 31, 2011. The graph assumes an investment of $100 as of May 16, 2007.
Graphic
         
Returns as of December 31,
 
Company/Index
 
May 16, 2007
   
2007
   
2008
   
2009
   
2010
   
2011
 
CAI International, Inc.
  $ 100     $ 70.13     $ 21.13     $ 60.20     $ 130.67     $ 103.07  
Russell 2000 Index
    100       93.40       60.89       76.25       95.54       90.33  
Dow JonesTransportation Index
    100       96.17       67.82       78.61       97.92       96.25  
 
ITEM 6.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected financial data presented below have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.

On January 1, 2009, we adopted and retrospectively applied Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 470-20, Debt With Conversion and Other Options, in connection with a $37.5 million convertible note to Interpool, Inc. that was executed in October 2006 and repaid in May 2007. The retrospective application of ASC 470-20 resulted in a $0.2 million decrease in net income for the year ended December 31, 2007, but did not have an impact on our financial position as of December 31, 2007.
 
 
27


Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected in future periods. You should read the selected consolidated financial data and operating data presented below in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data
 
   
Year Ended December 31,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
   
2008
   
2007
 
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
                             
                               
Revenue
                             
Container rental revenue
  $ 106,694     $ 64,892     $ 53,747     $ 56,436     $ 38,148  
Management fee revenue
    12,957       10,348       8,546       11,969       12,663  
Gain on sale of container portfolios
    2,345       614       753       12,443       12,855  
Finance lease income
    3,710       2,045       2,218       2,297       1,206  
Total revenue
    125,706       77,899       65,264       83,145       64,872  
                                         
Operating expenses
                                       
Depreciation of container rental equipment
    33,633       20,807       17,226       16,155       9,170  
Amortization of intangible assets
    1,254       1,377       1,566       1,534       1,241  
Gain on disposition of used container equipment
    (13,374 )     (9,112 )     (3,626 )     (4,155 )     (4,400 )
Gain on settlement of lease obligation
    -       -       -       -       (780 )
Equipment rental expense
    -       -       -       20       961  
Storage, handling and other expenses
    5,513       6,170       8,717       4,854       3,077  
Marketing, general and administrative expenses
    21,009       21,218       18,848       20,215       15,772  
Impairment of goodwill
    -       -       -       50,247       -  
Restructuring charges
    -       -       972       -       -  
(Gain) loss on foreign exchange
    (354 )     513       (215 )     564       (104 )
Total operating expenses
    47,681       40,973       43,488       89,434       24,937  
                                         
Operating income (loss)
    78,025       36,926       21,776       (6,289 )     39,935  
                                         
Interest expense
    16,139       5,278       4,311       9,346       10,705  
Gain on extinguishment of debt
    -       -       -       -       (681 )
Interest income
    (12 )     (109 )     (10 )     (229 )     (126 )
Net interest expense
    16,127       5,169       4,301       9,117       9,898  
                                         
Income (loss) before income taxes
    61,898       31,757       17,475       (15,406 )     30,037  
Income tax expense
    11,084       3,555       3,919       11,547       10,990  
                                         
Net income (loss)
    50,814       28,202       13,556       (26,953 )     19,047  
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest
    (625 )     181       -       -       -  
Accretion of preferred stock
    -       -       -       -       (5,577 )
                                         
Net income (loss) attributable to CAI common stockholders
  $ 50,189     $ 28,383     $ 13,556     $ (26,953 )   $ 13,470  
                                         
Net income (loss) per share attributable to CAI common stockholders
                                       
Basic
  $ 2.60     $ 1.58     $ 0.76     $ (1.55 )   $ 0.92  
Diluted
  $ 2.55     $ 1.56     $ 0.76     $ (1.55 )   $ 0.85  
                                         
Weighted average shares outstanding
                                       
Basic
    19,295       17,974       17,902       17,406       14,713  
Diluted
    19,693       18,203       17,902       17,406       16,682  
                                         
Other Financial Data
                                       
EBITDA (unaudited)(1)
  $ 112,732     $ 59,548     $ 40,794     $ 61,824     $ 50,473  
Adjusted EBITDA (unaudited)(1)
    118,812       64,881       46,326       68,387       54,464  
Purchase of containers
    491,780       204,565       31,284       189,600       219,530  
Net proceeds from sale of container portfolios
    24,886       12,367       5,840       99,773       113,402  
 
 
28


Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
 
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
   
2008
   
2007
 
                               
(Dollars in thousands)
                             
                               
Cash
  $ 14,677 *   $ 14,393     $ 14,492     $ 28,535     $ 8,433  
Container rental equipment, net
    841,847       530,939       299,340       310,397       242,606  
Net investment in direct finance leases
    37,749       11,834       12,620       20,111       10,966  
                                         
Total assets
    953,368       613,452       374,083       412,628       359,099  
Debt
    621,050       260,547       182,395       230,784       147,631  
Total liabilities
    704,632       415,778       244,985       298,838       227,951  
Total CAI stockholders' equity
    230,036       179,599       129,098       113,790       131,148  
*Includes restricted cash of $599
                                       
                                         
Selected Operating Data (unaudited):
                                       
Managed fleet in TEUs (2)
    458,254       478,608       507,681       534,553       500,433  
Owned fleet in TEUs (2)
    470,401       347,973       235,082       243,408       253,910  
      928,655       826,581       742,763       777,961       754,343  
                                         
Percentage of on-lease fleet on long-term leases (3)
    78.7 %     75.8 %     75.7 %     72.9 %     70.9 %
Percentage of on-lease fleet on short-term leases (3)
    17.4 %     21.7 %     21.5 %     23.8 %     26.8 %
Percentage of on-lease fleet on finance leases
    3.9 %     2.5 %     2.8 %     3.3 %     2.3 %
      100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %
                                         
Average Utilization rate (4)
    97.6 %     94.8 %     82.2 %     94.3 %     94.3 %
 
 
(1)
EBITDA is defined as net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets and impairment of goodwill. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA plus principal payments from direct finance leases (DFL). We believe adjusted EBITDA is helpful in understanding our past financial performance as a supplement to net income and other performance measures calculated in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). Our management believes that adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because it provides a measure of operating results unaffected by differences in capital structures, capital investment cycles and ages of related assets among otherwise comparable companies in our industry. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for any measure reported under GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA’s usefulness as a performance measure as compared to net income is limited by the fact that EBITDA excludes the impact of interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense, goodwill impairment and taxes, and additionally excludes principal payments from DFL in the case of adjusted EBITDA. We borrow money in order to finance our operations; therefore, interest expense is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenue. Similarly, our use of capital assets makes depreciation and amortization expense a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate income. In addition, since we are subject to state and federal income taxes, any measure that excludes tax expense has material limitations. Moreover, adjusted EBITDA is not calculated identically by all companies; therefore our presentation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Due to these limitations, we use adjusted EBITDA as a measure of performance only in conjunction with GAAP measures of performance, such as net income.
 
 
29


The following table provides a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most comparable performance measure under GAAP (in thousands):

   
Year Ended December 31,
 
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
   
2008
   
2007
 
                               
Net income (loss) attributable to CAI common stockholders
  $ 50,189     $ 28,383     $ 13,556     $ (26,953 )   $ 19,047  
Net interest expense
    16,127       5,169       4,301       9,117       9,898  
Depreciation
    34,078       21,064       17,452       16,332       9,297  
Amortization of intangible assets
    1,254       1,377       1,566       1,534       1,241  
Impairment of goodwill
    -       -       -       50,247       -  
Income tax expense
    11,084       3,555       3,919       11,547       10,990  
EBITDA
    112,732       59,548       40,794       61,824       50,473  
Principal payments from direct finance leases
    6,080       5,333       5,532       6,563       3,991  
Adjusted EBITDA
  $ 118,812     $ 64,881     $ 46,326     $ 68,387     $ 54,464  

(2)
Reflects the total number of TEUs in our managed or owned fleet, as applicable, as of the end of the period indicated, including units held for sale and units we have purchased but held at the manufacturer.
(3)
Long-term leases comprise leases that had a contractual term in excess of twelve months at the time of inception of the leases, including leases that permit cancellation by the lessee within 12 months if penalties are paid, and leases that have exceeded their initial contractual term of 12 months or greater. Short-term leases comprise leases that had a contractual term of 12 months or less at the time of inception of the leases.
(4)
Reflects the average number of TEUs in our fleet on lease as a percentage of total TEUs available for lease. In calculating TEUs available for lease, we exclude units for sale and units held at the manufacturer that we have purchased.
 
ITEM 7.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in “Risk Factors.”

The financial information included in this discussion and in our consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of our future consolidated financial position, operating results, changes in equity and cash flows.

Overview

We are one of the world’s leading container leasing and management companies. We purchase containers, lease them to container shipping lines, freight forwarders and others and either retain them as part of our owned fleet or sell them to container investors for whom we then provide management services. In operating our fleet, we lease, re-lease and dispose of containers and contract for the repair, repositioning and storage of containers. As of December 31, 2011, our fleet comprised 928,655 TEUs, 50.7% of which represented our owned fleet and 49.3% of which represented our managed fleet.

Our business comprises two reportable segments for financial statement reporting purposes - container management and container leasing. Our container leasing segment revenue comprises container rental revenue and finance lease income from our owned fleet, and our container management segment revenue comprises gain on sale of container portfolios and management fee revenue for managing containers for container investors.

Our container rental revenue depends primarily upon a combination of: (1) the number of containers in our owned fleet; (2) the utilization level of containers in our owned fleet; and (3) the per diem rates charged under each container lease. The same factors in our managed fleet affect the amount of our management fee revenue. The number of TEUs in our fleet varies over time as we purchase new containers based on prevailing market conditions during the year, sell portfolios of containers to container investors and sell used containers to parties in the secondary resale market.
 
 
30


Our net income will fluctuate based, in part, upon changes in the proportion of our revenue from our container management segment and the proportion of our revenue from our container leasing segment. We incur significantly lower operating expenses in connection with the revenues from our container management segment as compared to the operating expenses associated with revenues from our container leasing segment. In particular, we recognize an insignificant amount of operating expense in connection with our gain on sale of container portfolios in our container management segment. As a result, a change in the amount of revenues from our container management segment typically will have a disproportionately larger impact on our net income than an equal change in the amount of revenue from our container leasing segment.

Key Metrics

Utilization. We measure utilization on the basis of the average number of TEUs on lease expressed as a percentage of our total fleet available for lease. We calculate TEUs available for lease by excluding containers that have been manufactured for us but have not been delivered and containers designated as held-for-sale units. Our utilization is primarily driven by the overall level of container demand, the location of our available containers and the quality of our relationships with container lessees. The location of available containers is critical because containers available in high-demand locations are more readily leased and are typically leased on more favorable terms than containers available in low-demand locations.

The container leasing market is highly competitive. As such, our relationships with our container lessees are important to ensure that container shipping lines continue to select us as one of their providers of leased containers. Our annual average fleet utilization rate for the year ended December 31, 2011 was 97.6% compared to 94.8% and 82.2% for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009. The increase in our average fleet utilization from 2010 was primarily attributable to an increase in world trade and a reduction in the supply of containers. Our utilization rate may increase or decrease depending on future global economic conditions and the additional supply of new containers.

Per Diem Rates. The per diem rate for a lease is set at the time we enter into a lease agreement. Our long-term per diem rate has historically been strongly influenced by new container pricing, interest rates, the balance of supply and demand for containers at a particular time and location, our estimate of the residual value of the container at the end of the lease, the type and age of the container being leased, purchasing activities of containers by container shipping lines and efficiencies in container utilization by container shipping lines. The overall average per diem rates for containers in our owned fleet and in the portfolios of containers comprising our managed fleet do not change significantly in response to changes in new container prices because existing lease agreements can only be re-priced upon the expiration of the lease.

Revenue

Our revenue comprises container rental revenue, management fee revenue, gain on sale of container portfolios and finance lease income.

Container Rental Revenue. We generate container rental revenue by leasing our owned containers to container shipping lines. Container rental revenue comprises monthly lease payments due under the lease agreements together with payments for other charges set forth in the leases, such as handling fees, drop-off charges and repair charges.

Management Fee Revenue. Management fee revenue is generated by our management services, which include the leasing, re-leasing, repair, repositioning, storage and disposition of containers. We provide these management services pursuant to management agreements with container investors that purchase portfolios of containers from us. Under these agreements, which have multiple year terms, we earn fees for the management of the containers and a commission, or a managed units’ sales fee, upon disposition of containers under management. Our management fees are calculated as a percentage of net operating revenue for each managed container, which is calculated as the lease payment and any other revenue attributable to a specific container owned by the container investor under a lease, minus operating expenses related to the container, excluding the container investor’s depreciation and financing expense. The management fee percentage varies based upon the type of lease and the terms of the management agreement. Management fee percentages for long-term leases are generally lower than management fee percentages for short-term leases because less management time is required to manage long-term leases. Managed units’ sales fees are equal to a fixed dollar amount or based upon a percentage of the sales price.

Gain on Sale of Container Portfolios. Gain on sale of container portfolios is generated when we sell containers, most of which are on lease at the time of sale, to container investors. Historically, we have entered into management agreements with container investors to manage portfolios of containers that we have sold to them. The amount of revenue we recognize on these sales of containers is equal to the difference between the cash we receive from container investors and the net book value of the containers sold. We rely upon our borrowing capacity under our credit facilities for the flexibility to hold containers until we sell them to container investors. We have historically been able to sell leased containers to container investors at a gain, and we have typically recognized higher revenue from gain on sale of container portfolios in periods of rising container prices. Because we enter into firm purchase orders for containers before we find lessees for the containers, there is a risk that the time necessary to lease these containers may be longer than we anticipate or that the price that container investors are willing to pay for portfolios of containers may decline before we take delivery.

 
31

 
Finance Lease Income. A small percentage of our total fleet is subject to finance leases. Under a finance lease, the lessee’s payment consists of principal and interest components. The interest component is recognized as finance lease income. Lessees under our finance leases have the substantive risks and rewards of container ownership and may have the option to purchase the containers at the end of the lease term for a nominal amount.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses are depreciation of container rental equipment, amortization of intangible assets, storage, handling and other expenses applicable to our owned containers, as well as marketing, general and administrative expenses for our total fleet.

We depreciate our containers on a straight line basis over a period of 12.0 or 12.5 years to a fixed estimated residual value depending on the type of container (See Note 2 (d) in our consolidated financial statements. We regularly assess both the estimated useful life of our containers and the expected residual values, and, when warranted, adjust our depreciation estimate accordingly. Depreciation expense for container rental equipment will vary over time based upon the number and the purchase price of containers in our owned fleet.
 
Storage, handling and other expenses are operating costs of our owned fleet. Storage and handling expenses occur when container shipping lines drop off containers at depots around the world. Storage and handling expenses vary significantly by location. Other expenses include repair expenses, which are the result of normal wear and tear on the containers, and repositioning expenses, which are incurred when we contract to move containers from locations where our inventories exceed actual or expected demand to locations with higher demand. Storage, handling and other expenses are directly related to the number of containers in our owned fleet and inversely related to our utilization rate for those containers: as utilization increases, we typically have lower storage, handling and repositioning expenses.

Our marketing, general and administrative expenses are primarily employee-related costs such as salary, bonus and commission expenses, employee benefits, rent, allowance for doubtful accounts and travel and entertainment costs, as well as expenses incurred for outside services such as legal, consulting and audit-related fees.

Our operating expenses are offset by the gain on disposition of used container equipment. This gain is the result of our sale of older used containers in the secondary resale market and is the difference between: (1) the cash we receive for these units, less selling expenses; and (2) the net book value of the units.
 
 
32


Results of Operations

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands):

 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
2011
 
 
2010
 
 
2009
 
Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Container rental revenue
 
$
106,694
 
 
$
64,892
 
 
$
53,747
 
Management fee revenue
 
 
12,957
 
 
 
10,348
 
 
 
8,546
 
Gain on sale of container portfolios
 
 
2,345
 
 
 
614
 
 
 
753
 
Finance lease income
 
 
3,710
 
 
 
2,045
 
 
 
2,218
 
Total revenue
 
 
125,706
 
 
 
77,899
 
 
 
65,264
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating expenses
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Depreciation of container rental equipment
 
 
33,633
 
 
 
20,807
 
 
 
17,226
 
Amortization of intangible assets
 
 
1,254
 
 
 
1,377
 
 
 
1,566
 
Gain on disposition of used container equipment
 
 
(13,374
)
 
 
(9,112
)
 
 
(3,626
)
Storage, handling and other expenses
 
 
5,513
 
 
 
6,170
 
 
 
8,717
 
Marketing, general and administrative expense
 
 
21,009
 
 
 
21,218
 
 
 
18,848
 
Restructuring charges
 
 
-
 
 
 
-
 
 
 
972
 
(Gain) loss on foreign exchange
 
 
(354)
 
 
 
513
 
 
 
(215
)
Total operating expenses
 
 
47,681
 
 
 
40,973
 
 
 
43,488
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating income
 
 
78,025
 
 
 
36,926
 
 
 
21,776
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest expense
 
 
16,139
 
 
 
5,278
 
 
 
4,311
 
Interest income
 
 
(12
)
 
 
(109
)
 
 
(10
)
Net interest expense
 
 
16,127
 
 
 
5,169
 
 
 
4,301
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income before income taxes and non-controlling interest
 
 
61,898
 
 
 
31,757
 
 
 
17,475
 
Income tax expense
 
 
11,084
 
 
 
3,555
 
 
 
3,919
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income
 
 
50,814
 
 
 
28,202
 
 
 
13,556
 
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest
 
 
(625
)
 
 
181
 
 
 
-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income attributable to CAI common stockholders
 
$
50,189
 
 
$
28,383
 
 
$
13,556
 

Year Ended December 31, 2011 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2010
 
Revenue. The above table shows the composition of our revenue. The following discussion explains the significant changes in the composition of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010:
 
Container Rental Revenue. Container rental revenue increased $41.8 million, or 64.4%, to $106.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $64.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This was primarily caused by an increase in revenue of $25.0 million attributable to a 38.6% increase in the average number of TEUs of owned containers on lease, and a $13.2 million increase due to a 20.3% increase in average per diem rental rates. The average utilization of our owned containers during 2011 was 97.9% compared to 96.2% during 2010.
 
Management Fee Revenue. Management fee revenue for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $13.0 million, an increase of $2.7 million, or 25.2%, from $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase in managed container utilization and average per diem rates, partially offset by a reduction in the size of the managed container fleet, resulted in higher profitability in most of our investors’ portfolios. In addition, we earned higher commissions on the sale of managed containers as a result of higher average selling prices during the year ended December 31, 2011. The average utilization of our managed containers during 2011 was 97.3% compared to 94.0% during 2010.

 
33


Gain on Sale of Container Portfolios. Gain on sale of container portfolios of $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $1.7 million, or 281.9 %, higher than the gain of $0.6 million recognized for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase was due primarily to higher margins on containers sold to investors, partly offset by lower volumes of containers sold compared to the year ended December 31, 2010.

    Finance Lease Income. Finance lease income increased $1.7 million, or 81.4%, to $3.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, from $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, due primarily to higher interest income resulting from an increase in new finance lease contracts.
 
Operating Expenses. The following discussion explains the significant changes in expenses for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010:
 
Depreciation of Container Rental Equipment. Depreciation of container rental equipment increased by $12.8 million, or 61.6%, to $33.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, from $20.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase was primarily attributable to a 38.6% increase in average TEUs of owned containers, partly offset by the net impact of implementing higher estimated residual values in 2011. This change in estimated residual values reduced depreciation expense and increased our pre-tax income by approximately $3.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.
 
Amortization of Intangible Assets. Amortization expense relating to intangible assets for the year ended December 31, 2011 decreased $0.1 million, or 8.9%, to $1.3 million from $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease resulted primarily from certain contracts and customer relationships that have been fully amortized.
 
Gain on Disposition of Used Container Equipment. Gain on disposition of used container equipment increased by $4.3 million, or 46.8 %, to $13.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, from $9.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.  Although we sold 30.5% fewer containers during the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010, the sales price and associated profit margin in 2011 were significantly higher.
 
Storage, Handling and Other Expenses. Storage, handling and other expenses declined by $0.7 million, or 10.6%, to $5.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, from $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase in the average utilization rate of our owned containers resulted in lower storage and handling costs during the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010.

Marketing, General and Administrative Expense (MG&A). MG&A expense for the year ended December 31, 2011 decreased $0.2 million, or 1.0%, to $21.0 million, compared to $21.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease was due primarily to a $0.9 million bad debt recovery, partly offset by an increase in travel related expense and personnel related costs.
 
(Gain) Loss on Foreign Exchange. We recorded a gain of $0.4 million on foreign exchange transactions for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to a loss of $0.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2010.  Gains and losses on foreign currency primarily occur when foreign denominated financial assets and liabilities are either settled or remeasured in U.S. dollars. The gain on foreign exchange for the year ended December 31, 2011 was primarily the result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, primarily the Euro.
 
Net Interest Expense. Net interest expense of $16.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased $11.0 million, or 212.0%, from $5.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase in net interest expense resulted primarily from a higher average debt balance.
 
Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $11.1 million, a $7.5 million, or 211.8%, increase from $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. For the year ended December 31, 2010, we recorded a $1.9 million benefit resulting from the release of an uncertain tax liability caused by the expiration of the statute of limitations for the period in which the liability was accrued. Without this reduction, income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2010 would have been $5.5 million and the effective tax rate would have been 17.2%, which is slightly lower than the effective rate of 17.9% for the year ended December 31, 2011. The slightly higher effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010 is primarily attributable to an increase in pretax income arising from our U.S. operations.
 
 
34


Segment Information
 
The following table summarizes our results of operations for each of our business segments for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
2011
 
 
2010
 
 
Percent
Change
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Container Leasing
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
 
$
110,404
 
 
$
66,937
 
 
 
     64.9
%
Operating expenses
 
 
40,455
 
 
 
34,937
 
 
 
15.8
 
Interest expense
 
 
16,139
 
 
 
5,278
 
 
 
205.8
 
Income before taxes attributable to segment
 
$
53,810
 
 
$
26,722
 
 
 
101.4
 
Container Management
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
 
$
15,302
 
 
$
10,962
 
 
 
39.6
 
Operating expenses
 
 
7,226
 
 
 
6,036
 
 
 
19.7
 
Income before taxes attributable to segment
 
$
8,076
 
 
$
4,926
 
 
 
63.9
 
 
Container Leasing. Total revenue from our container leasing segment increased $43.5 million, or 64.9%, to $110.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, from $66.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. This was primarily due to a $41.8 million, or 64.4 %, increase in container rental revenue, and a $1.7 million, or 81.4%, increase in finance lease income. The increase in container rental revenue was primarily caused by an increase in revenue of $25.0 million attributable to a 38.6% increase in the average number of TEUs of owned containers on lease, and a $13.2 million increase due to a 20.3% increase in average per diem rental rates. The average utilization of our owned containers during 2011 was 97.9% compared to 96.2% during 2010. Revenue from direct finance leases increased due primarily to the higher interest income resulting from the increase in new finance lease contracts.
 
Operating expenses for the container leasing segment increased $5.5 million, or 15.8%, to $40.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $34.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase was primarily due to higher depreciation expense, partly offset by higher gain on disposition of used container equipment, decrease in MG&A expense and lower expenses that were directly allocated to the container leasing segment including storage, handling and repairs expenses and amortization of intangible assets.

Interest expense of $16.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased $10.9 million, or 205.8%, from $5.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase in net interest expense resulted primarily from higher average debt balances.
 
Container Management. Total revenue of $15.3 million from our container management segment for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $4.3 million, or 39.6%, higher than the $11.0 million revenue we reported for this segment for the year ended December 31, 2010. Higher utilization and per diem rates for our managed containers resulted in increased profitability for our managed portfolios, generating higher management fee income. In addition, we recorded a gain on sale of container portfolios of $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010.
 
Total operating expenses of $7.2 million for the container management segment for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased $1.2 million, or 19.7% from the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase was due primarily to the higher percentage of MG&A expense allocated to this segment.

Year Ended December 31, 2010 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2009
 
Revenue. The following discussion explains the significant changes in the composition of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009:
 
Container Rental Revenue. Container rental revenue increased $11.1 million, or 20.7%, to $64.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 from $53.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. This was primarily caused by an increase in revenue of $18.5 million attributable to a 34.5% increase in the average number of TEUs of owned containers on lease, partly offset by the decrease in revenue of $3.2 million attributable to a 5.9% decrease in average per diem rental rates. The average utilization of our owned containers during 2010 was 96.2% compared to 86.3% during 2009.
 
 
35


Management Fee Revenue. Management fee revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $10.3 million, an increase of $1.8 million, or 21.1%, from $8.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase was due primarily to the increase in deal origination fees earned on management contracts. In addition, the increase in average utilization rate and average quantity of managed containers on lease resulted in higher net operating income of our managed funds on which our management fees are based. The average utilization of our managed containers during 2010 was 94.0% compared to 80.4% during 2009.

Gain on Sale of Container Portfolios. Gain on sale of container portfolios of $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $0.1 million, or 18.5 %, lower than the gain of $0.8 million recognized for the year ended December 31, 2009. We sold more containers during the year ended December 31, 2010 but at a lower margin compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.
 
Finance Lease Income. Finance lease income decreased $0.2 million, or 7.8%, to $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 from $2.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. This decrease was primarily due to lower average principal balance of our existing DFLs during the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009, partly as a result of converting certain DFL contracts to operating leases.
 
Operating Expenses. The following discussion explains the significant changes in expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009:
 
Depreciation of Container Rental Equipment. Depreciation of container rental equipment increased by $3.6 million, or 21.2%, to $20.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from $17.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The higher expense was primarily due to the increase in the average number of owned containers at a higher cost during the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.
 
Amortization of Intangible Assets. Amortization expense relating to intangible assets for the year ended December 31, 2010 decreased $0.2 million, or 12.1%, to $1.4 million from $1.6 million during the same period last year. The decrease resulted primarily from exchange rate differences on the reporting of the amortization of Consent intangibles, which are recorded in Euros and translated to U.S. dollars, and trademarks that have been fully amortized. Additionally, software acquired from Consent has been fully amortized since the third quarter of 2009.
 
Gain on Disposition of Used Container Equipment. Gain on disposition of used container equipment increased by $5.5 million, or 151.3 %, to $9.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase primarily resulted from a higher volume of used containers sold at a higher margin during the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.
 
Storage, Handling and Other Expenses. Storage, handling and other expenses declined by $2.5 million, or 29.2%, to $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from $8.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in the utilization rate of our owned containers has resulted in lower storage and handling costs during the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.

Marketing, General and Administrative Expense (MG&A). MG&A expense for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased $2.4 million, or 12.6%, to $21.2 million, compared to $18.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase was due primarily to higher bad debt expense, travel related expense, and personnel related costs.
 
Loss (Gain) on Foreign Exchange. We recorded a loss of $0.5 million on foreign exchange transactions for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to a gain of $0.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2009.  The loss resulted from transactions that were recorded in a currency other than the local functional currency upon settlement of the receivable. Part of the loss was related to the sales of containers that were denominated in Euros, which generally weakened against the British pound sterling during the year.
 
Net Interest Expense. Net interest expense of $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased $0.9 million, or 20.2%, from $4.3 million incurred during the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in net interest expense resulted primarily from a higher average debt balance and a higher average interest rate.
 
 
36


Income Tax Expense. Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $3.6 million, a $0.3 million, or 9.3%, decrease from $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The decrease was due primarily to the reduction of an accrued tax liability of $1.9 million resulting from the release of an uncertain tax liability caused by the expiration of the statute of limitation for the period in which the liability was accrued. Without this reduction, income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2010 would have been $5.5 million and the effective tax rate would have been 17.2% compared to 22.4% for the same period in 2009. The lower effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009 is mainly attributable to a higher proportion of overall pretax income coming from our foreign operations where statutory rates are lower than the U.S. income tax rates.

Segment Information
 
During the year ended December 31, 2010, we refined our methodology for allocating MG&A expense to each segment based on a study which analyzed the departmental composition of MG&A expense. The expense allocation was based on either revenue or twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in each segment, depending on the function of the department that incurred the expense, after directly assigning MG&A expense relating to Consent and CAIJ subsidiaries to the container leasing and container management segment, respectively. Management believes that this allocation method results in a more representative distribution of MG&A expense between the two segments. For comparative purposes, we applied this allocation method to MG&A expenses for the year ended December 31, 2009 to conform with the methodology used for the year ended December 31, 2010. Prior to the year ended December 31, 2010, we had been allocating MG&A expense to each segment based solely on the ratio of owned and managed TEUs to its total fleet of TEUs after directly assigning MG&A expense relating to Consent to the container leasing segment.

The following table summarizes our results of operations for each of our business segments for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009. The MG&A expense included in total operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2009 has been adjusted to conform with the 2010 presentation (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
2009
 
 
Percent
Change
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Container Leasing
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
 
$
66,937
 
 
$
55,965
 
 
 
19.6
%
Operating expenses
 
 
34,937
 
 
 
37,921
 
 
 
(7.9
)
Interest expense
 
 
5,278
 
 
 
4,311
 
 
 
22.4
 
Income before taxes attributable to segment
 
$
26,722
 
 
$
13,733
 
 
 
94.6
 
Container Management
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total revenue
 
$
10,962
 
 
$
9,299
 
 
 
17.9
 
Operating expenses
 
 
6,036
 
 
 
5,567
 
 
 
8.4
 
Income before taxes attributable to segment
 
$
4,926
 
 
$
3,732
 
 
 
32.0
 
 
Container Leasing. Total revenue from our container leasing segment increased $11.0 million, or 19.6%, to $66.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, from $55.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in revenue was principally driven by higher utilization rates and higher average per diem rates on short term leases resulting in higher container rental revenue. Revenue from direct finance leases decreased due primarily to a lower average principal balance of our existing DFLs during the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the same period last year, and partly as a result of converting certain finance lease contracts to operating leases.
 
Total operating expenses for the container leasing segment decreased $3.0 million, or 7.9%, to $34.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 from $37.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The decrease was primarily due to higher gain on disposition of used container equipment and lower expenses that were directly allocated to the container leasing segment including decreases in storage, handling and repairs expenses, amortization of intangible assets and restructuring charges. These were partly offset by increases in MG&A (including bad debt expense which was directly allocated to the container leasing segment), foreign exchange loss and depreciation expense. We had previously reported operating expenses of $31.9 million and income before taxes attributable to segment of $19.7 million for the container leasing segment for the year ended December 31, 2009 based on our previous method of allocating MG&A expense as described above.

Interest expense of $5.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased $1.0 million, or 22.4%, from $4.3 million incurred during the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in net interest expense resulted primarily from higher average debt balances and higher interest rates.
 
 
37

 
Container Management. Total revenue from our container management segment for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $11.0 million, an increase of $1.7 million, or 17.9%, from the year ended December 31, 2009. This increase in revenue was primarily due to a $1.8 million increase in management fee revenue, partly offset by a $0.1 million decrease in gain on sale of container portfolios, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in management fee revenue was attributable to the higher utilization of our managed containers and an increase in the average number of managed containers on lease which resulted in a higher profitability of most of our investor portfolios from which we derived our management fee income. Total operating expenses of $6.0 million allocated to this segment increased by $0.5 million, or 8.4%, from $5.6 million for the same period last year primarily as a result of higher MG&A. We had previously reported $11.6 million of operating expenses and a loss attributable to segment of $2.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 for the container management segment based on our previous method of allocating MG&A expense as described in the foregoing discussion.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
Our principal sources of liquidity have been cash flows from operations, sales of container portfolios, borrowings from financial institutions and sale of our stock. We believe that cash flow from operations, future sales of container portfolios and borrowing availability under our credit facilities are sufficient to meet our liquidity needs for at least the next 12 months.
 
We have typically funded a significant portion of the purchase price for new containers through borrowings under our credit facilities. However, from time to time we have funded new container acquisitions through the use of working capital.
 
Our revolving credit facility is secured by substantially all of our assets that are not otherwise used as security for our other credit facilities. Our term loan with a consortium of banks, related party term loan, asset-backed warehouse facility and capital lease obligations are secured by specific pools of containers owned by the Company, the underlying leases thereon and our interest in any money received under such contracts.
 
As of December 31, 2011, the maximum credit commitment under our existing revolving credit facility was $360.0 million.  The maximum credit commitment was increased to $380.0 million effective January 30, 2012.  The facility may be increased under certain conditions described in the agreement. In addition, there is a commitment fee on the unused amount of the total commitment, payable quarterly in arrears. The agreement provides that swing line loans (short-term borrowings of up to $10.0 million in the aggregate that are payable within 10 business days or at maturity date, whichever comes earlier) and standby letters of credit (up to $15.0 million in the aggregate) will be available to us. These credit commitments are part of, and not in addition to, the maximum credit commitment. The interest rates vary depending upon whether the loans are characterized as Base Rate loans or Eurodollar Rate loans as defined in the revolving credit facility. As of December 31, 2011 the interest rate on our revolving credit facility was 3.0%. Our revolving credit facility will expire on September 25, 2014.
 
As of December 31, 2011, we had a balance of $261.0 million and availability of $98.9 million under our revolving credit facility (net of $0.1 million in letters of credit), subject to our ability to meet the collateral requirements under the agreement governing our revolving credit facility. The entire amount of the facility drawn at any time plus accrued interest and fees is callable on demand in the event of certain specified events of default.
 
On June 27, 2011, we entered into an agreement with the banks to amend our revolving credit facility to provide us with greater flexibility in regards to our capital structure. The amendments include revising certain financial covenants, reducing our borrowing base and adding the ability for us to form subsidiary entities that will be structured in a manner which will provide us with the ability to access public debt markets through the use of asset-backed securities that are collateralized by our assets.
 
We intend to use our revolving credit facility primarily to fund the purchase of containers in the future. As of December 31, 2011, we had commitments to purchase $3.5 million of container equipment and had rental equipment payable of $13.3 million. We have typically used our cash flow from operations and the proceeds from sales of container portfolios to container investors to repay our revolving credit facility. As we expand our owned fleet, our revolving credit facility balance will be higher and will result in higher interest expense. In addition to customary events of default, our revolving credit facility and term loans contain restrictive covenants, including limitations on certain liens, indebtedness and investments.  In addition, all of our facilities contain certain restrictive financial covenants.  The covenants require us to maintain (1) a maximum consolidated funded debt to consolidated tangible net worth ratio of 3.50:1.00; and (2) a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.20:1.00. We were in compliance with both covenants at December 31, 2011. Restrictions imposed by the financial covenants could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs and pursue available business opportunities.
 
Our capital leases are denominated in U.S. dollars and Euros, are financed by various European banks and financial institutions and secured by their underlying assets. As of December 31, 2011, our capital lease obligations totaled $20.3 million, with interest rates averaging 3.1%.
 
 
38

 
On August 20, 2009, we signed a $10.0 million, five-year loan agreement with the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ). The loan is payable in 19 quarterly installments of $0.2 million starting October 31, 2009 and a final payment of $6.2 million on July 31, 2014. The loan bears a variable interest rate based on BBA LIBOR and is secured by certain of our container rental equipment. As of December 31, 2011, the loan had a balance of $8.2 million, of which $0.8 million is repayable within one year, and an interest rate of 2.8%. DBJ owned approximately 9.4% of our outstanding common stock as of the date of closing of the loan agreement. DBJ’s ownership of our total outstanding common stock has been reduced to approximately 4.9% after selling 753,000 shares in December 2010.

On December 20, 2010, we entered into a Term Loan Agreement with a consortium of banks. Under this loan agreement, we were eligible to borrow up to $300.0 million, subject to certain borrowing conditions, which amount is secured by certain assets of our wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The loan agreement is an amortizing facility with a term of six years, originally with quarterly payments of principal of $6.0 million each (i.e. 2.0% of the aggregate commitment).  Any unpaid principal will be due on December 20, 2016.
 
On March 11, 2011 we entered into an Amendment to the Term Loan Agreement which reduced the quarterly payments of principal for the $185.0 million initially borrowed to $3.7 million each (i.e. 2.0% of the drawn amount) for the first 23 quarterly payment dates with a final payment of $99.9 million (54.0% of the drawn amount) due on December 20, 2016. The quarterly payment of principal on the additional draw downs (each determined separately) is an amount equal to the product of (x) the quotient obtained by dividing 46.0% by the number of remaining scheduled principal payment dates, as of the draw down date and (y) the initial principal balance of such term loan, with a final payment due on December 20, 2016 of 54.0% of the initial principal balance of such term loan. The loan bears a variable interest rate based on LIBOR for Eurodollar loans, and Base Rate for base rate loans.  The Base Rate is defined as the highest of (i) the federal funds rate plus 1/2 of 1.0%, (ii) the prime rate (as published in The Wall Street Journal), and (iii) the Eurodollar rate (for three-month loans) plus 1.0%. The proceeds from this borrowing were used to pay part of our revolving credit facility. As of December 31, 2011, the loan had a balance of $280.6 million, of which $25.0 million is repayable within one year, and an interest rate of 3.5%.
 
On September 9, 2011, our wholly-owned indirect subsidiary, CAL Funding I Limited, entered into a credit facility for $100.0 million of asset-backed warehouse notes, which facility may be increased to $200.0 million subject to certain conditions.   The notes bear a variable interest rate based on LIBOR during the initial two-year funding period.  If the notes are not refinanced or renewed during this two-year period, the facility is structured to amortize over a term that is scheduled to be ten years, but not to exceed 15 years.  The facility contains various financial and other covenants.  The proceeds from the facility will be used to finance equipment purchases and leases. As of December 31, 2011, our warehouse credit facility had a balance of $51.0 million.  The warehouse facility is secured by containers and other assets owned by CAL Funding I Limited. We are required to maintain a restricted cash balance on deposit in a designated bank account equal to five months of interest. As of December 31, 2011, we had $0.6 million in the restricted cash account.
 
On April 15, 2011, we filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC. Under this shelf registration statement, we may sell various debt and equity securities, or a combination thereof, to be offered from time-to-time up to an aggregate offering price of $250.0 million for all securities, and the selling stockholders may sell up to 2,500,000 shares of common stock in one or more offerings.

Cash Flow

The following table sets forth certain cash flow information for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
 
2011
 
 
2010
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
Net income
 
$
50,814
 
 
$
28,202
 
 
$
13,556
 
Adjustments to income
 
 
21,291
 
 
 
14,222
 
 
 
17,242
 
Net cash provided by operating activities
 
 
72,105
 
 
 
42,424
 
 
 
30,798
 
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
 
 
(430,137
)
 
 
(157,208
)
 
 
3,688
 
Net cash provided by financing activities
 
 
358,048
 
 
 
115,020
 
 
 
49,007
 
Effect on cash of foreign currency translation
 
 
(331
)
 
 
(335)
 
 
 
478
 
Net decrease in cash
 
 
  (315)
)
 
 
(99
)
 
 
(14,043)
 
Cash at beginning of year
 
 
14,393
 
 
 
14,492
 
 
 
28,535
 
Cash at end of year
 
$
14,078
 
 
$
14,393
 
 
$
14,492
 
 
 
39

 
Operating Activities Cash Flows

Net cash provided by operating activities of $72.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased $29.7 million from $42.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase was primarily due to a $30.2 million increase in net income as adjusted for non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization. The increase in net income was due primarily to a  $47.8 million increase in revenue that was driven by an increase in the number of containers on lease and an increase in average per diem rental rates, partly offset by a $25.2 million increase in operating expenses, interest and income taxes.
 
Operating cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased $11.6 million from the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase was due primarily to a $14.6 million increase in net income, partly offset by a $4.4 million decrease in net working capital.

Investing Activities Cash Flows

Net cash used in investing activities increased $272.9 million to $430.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from $157.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase in cash usage was primarily attributable to a $287.2 million increase in the purchase of containers, partly offset by a $12.5 million increase in net proceeds from the sale of container portfolios.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased $160.9 million from the same period in 2009 due primarily to a $173.3 million increase in the purchase of containers, partly offset by the $14.8 million increase in net proceeds from the sale of container portfolios and disposition of used container equipment.

Financing Activities Cash Flows

Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $358.0 million compared to $115.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. For the year ended December 31, 2011, we increased our borrowings under our credit facilities by $412.6 million while repayments of bank debt and capital lease obligations increased by $141.5 million. The proceeds from bank borrowings were used to finance our acquisition of containers.
 
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $115.0 million compared to net cash used of $49.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The $164.0 million increase in cash attributable to financing activities was due primarily to a $110.8 million increase in proceeds from bank loans, $22.4 million proceeds from the issuance of our common stock and a $19.0 million decrease in the payment of our bank debts.  In addition, we received $18.3 million of capital contribution from two Japanese container funds that were included in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2010 as a non-controlling interest.
 
 
40


Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments

The following table sets forth our contractual obligations and commercial commitments by due date as of December 31, 2011 (in thousands):
 
           
Payments Due by Period
 
         
Less than
     1-2     2-3      3-4      4-5    
More than
 
   
Total
   
1 year
   
years
   
years
   
years
   
years
   
5 years
 
Total debt obligations:
                                                 
Revolving credit facility
  $ 261,000     $ -     $ -     $ 261,000     $ -     $ -     $ -  
Term loan - banks
    280,579       24,964       24,964       24,964       24,964       180,723       -  
Related party term loan
    8,200       800       800       6,600       -       -       -  
Asset based warehouse facility
    51,000       -       1,275       5,100       5,100       5,100       34,425  
Interest on debt and capital lease obligations (1)
    73,748       19,999       18,905       15,610       8,545       7,452       3,237  
Rental equipment payable
    13,301       13,301       -       -       -       -       -  
Rent, office facilities and equipment
    6,111       1,206       1,003       1,017       1,005       1,014       866  
Capital lease obligations
    20,271       3,792       3,386       2,329       2,078       7,645       1,041  
Container purchases commitments
    3,474