The Company and Nature of Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

The Company and Nature of Operations [Abstract]

The Company and Nature of Operations

(1) The Company and Nature of Operations

CAI International, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, CAI or the Company) operates primarily in the international intermodal marine cargo container leasing business. The Company also owns a fleet of railcars, which it leases in North America. The Company generates revenue from two reportable segments: equipment leasing and container management. The equipment leasing segment specializes primarily in the ownership and leasing of intermodal 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.