Goodwill	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill	Goodwill As of December 31, 2014, the Company had $7.2 million of goodwill related to the March 2006 acquisition of Custom Steel; a subsidiary of Steel Technologies, Inc. The results attributable to Custom Steel are included in the manufacturing segment. The Company performed the two-step impairment review process as of March 1, 2014 utilizing the market and income approaches and significant assumptions discussed below. Upon completion of step one, the Company determined that the estimated fair value was higher than the recorded net book value and therefore no further testing was deemed necessary and no impairment of goodwill was recorded. Market Approach The market approach produces indications of value by applying multiples of enterprise value to revenue as well as enterprise value to earnings before depreciation, amortization, interest and taxes. The multiples indicate what investors are willing to pay for comparable publicly held companies. When adjusted for the risk level and growth potential of the subject company relative to the guideline companies, these multiples are a reasonable indication of the value an investor would attribute to the subject company. Income Approach The income approach considers the subject company's future sales and earnings growth potential as the primary source of future cash flow. ARI prepared a five-year financial projection for the reporting unit and used a discounted net cash flow method to determine the fair value. Net cash flow consists of after-tax operating income, plus depreciation, less capital expenditures and working capital needs. The discounted cash flow method considers a five-year projection of net cash flow and adds to those cash flows a residual value at the end of the projection period. Significant estimates and assumptions used in the evaluation were forecasted revenues and profits, the weighted average cost of capital and tax rates. Forecasted revenues of the reporting unit were estimated based on historical trends of the ARI plants that the reporting unit supplies parts to, which are driven by the railcar market forecast. Forecasted margins were based on historical experience. The reporting unit does not have a selling, administrative or executive staff; therefore, an estimate of salaries and benefits for key employees was added to represent selling, general and administrative expenses. The weighted average cost of capital was calculated using an estimated cost of equity and debt. All of the above estimates and assumptions were determined by management to be reasonable based on the knowledge and information at the time of the evaluation. As such, this carries a risk of uncertainty. There could be significant fluctuations in the cost of raw materials, unionization of the Company's workforce or other factors that might significantly affect the reporting unit's cost structure and negatively impact the projection of financial performance. If the railcar industry forecasts or ARI's market share were to change significantly, the fair value of the reporting unit would be materially adversely impacted. Other events that might occur that could have a negative effect would be a natural disaster that would render the facility unusable, a significant litigation settlement, a significant workers' compensation claim or other event that would result in a production shut down or significant expense to the reporting unit.

Goodwill

As of December 31, 2014, the Company had $7.2 million of goodwill related to the March 2006 acquisition of Custom Steel; a subsidiary of Steel Technologies, Inc. The results attributable to Custom Steel are included in the manufacturing segment.

The Company performed the two-step impairment review process as of March 1, 2014 utilizing the market and income approaches and significant assumptions discussed below. Upon completion of step one, the Company determined that the estimated fair value was higher than the recorded net book value and therefore no further testing was deemed necessary and no impairment of goodwill was recorded.

Market Approach

The market approach produces indications of value by applying multiples of enterprise value to revenue as well as enterprise value to earnings before depreciation, amortization, interest and taxes. The multiples indicate what investors are willing to pay for comparable publicly held companies. When adjusted for the risk level and growth potential of the subject company relative to the guideline companies, these multiples are a reasonable indication of the value an investor would attribute to the subject company.

Income Approach

The income approach considers the subject company's future sales and earnings growth potential as the primary source of future cash flow. ARI prepared a five-year financial projection for the reporting unit and used a discounted net cash flow method to determine the fair value. Net cash flow consists of after-tax operating income, plus depreciation, less capital expenditures and working capital needs. The discounted cash flow method considers a five-year projection of net cash flow and adds to those cash flows a residual value at the end of the projection period.

Significant estimates and assumptions used in the evaluation were forecasted revenues and profits, the weighted average cost of capital and tax rates. Forecasted revenues of the reporting unit were estimated based on historical trends of the ARI plants that the reporting unit supplies parts to, which are driven by the railcar market forecast. Forecasted margins were based on historical experience. The reporting unit does not have a selling, administrative or executive staff; therefore, an estimate of salaries and benefits for key employees was added to represent selling, general and administrative expenses. The weighted average cost of capital was calculated using an estimated cost of equity and debt.

All of the above estimates and assumptions were determined by management to be reasonable based on the knowledge and information at the time of the evaluation. As such, this carries a risk of uncertainty. There could be significant fluctuations in the cost of raw materials, unionization of the Company's workforce or other factors that might significantly affect the reporting unit's cost structure and negatively impact the projection of financial performance. If the railcar industry forecasts or ARI's market share were to change significantly, the fair value of the reporting unit would be materially adversely impacted. Other events that might occur that could have a negative effect would be a natural disaster that would render the facility unusable, a significant litigation settlement, a significant workers' compensation claim or other event that would result in a production shut down or significant expense to the reporting unit.