The Company and Nature of Operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

The Company and Nature of Operations [Abstract]

The Company and Nature of Operations

(1) The Company and Nature of Operations

Organization

CAI International, Inc. (CAI or the Company) operates in the international intermodal marine cargo container leasing business. Within this single industry sector, the Company generates revenue from two reportable segments: container leasing and container management. The container leasing segment specializes primarily in the ownership and leasing of intermodal dry freight standard containers, while the container management segment manages containers for container investors. The Company leases its containers principally to international container shipping lines located throughout the world. The Company sells containers primarily to investor groups and provides management services to those investors in return for a management fee.

The Company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CAP”. The Company's corporate headquarters are located in San Francisco, California.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments necessary to present fairly the Company's financial position as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company's results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 and the Company's cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010. The results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations or cash flows which may be reported for the remainder of 2011 or in any future period. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted. The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2010, included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 16, 2011.