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Description of the Business	12 Months Ended
Description of the Business	Dec. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Description of the Business	Description of the Business American Railcar Industries, Inc. (a North Dakota corporation) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively the Company or ARI) manufactures railcars, which are offered for sale or lease, custom and standard railcar components and other industrial products, primarily aluminum and special alloy steel castings. These products are sold to various types of companies including shippers, leasing companies, industrial companies, and Class I railroads. ARI leases railcars manufactured by the Company to certain markets. ARI provides railcar services consisting of railcar repair services, ranging from full to light repair, engineering and on-site repairs and maintenance through the Company's various repair facilities, including mini repair shops and mobile repair units. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared by ARI and include the accounts of ARI and its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries: Castings, LLC (Castings), ARI Component Venture, LLC (ARI Component), ARI Fleet Services of Canada, Inc., ARI Longtrain, Inc. (Longtrain), Longtrain Leasing I, LLC (LLI), Longtrain Leasing II, LLC (LLII) and Longtrain Leasing III, LLC (LLIII). The accounts of American Railcar Mauritius I (ARM I) and American Railcar Mauritius II (ARM II) have also been included through December 27, 2013, the effective date of the sale of all of the Company's ownership interests in such entities. See Note 10, Investments in and Loans to Joint Ventures, for further discussion regarding this sale. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.