The Company And Nature Of Operations	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
The Company And Nature Of Operations [Abstract]
The Company And Nature Of Operations	(1) The Company and Nature of Operations CAI International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (collectively, CAI or the Company), is a transportation finance company. The Company purchases equipment, primarily intermodal shipping containers, which it leases to its customers. The Company also manages equipment for third-party investors. In operating its fleet, the Company leases, re-leases and disposes of equipment and contracts for the repair, repositioning and storage of equipment. The Company’s common stock, 8.50% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Stock and 8.50% Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Stock are each traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “CAI,” “CAI-PA” and “CAI-PB,” respectively. The Company’s corporate headquarters are located in San Francisco, California. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company sold substantially all of the assets and liabilities of its logistics business to NFI, a North American logistics provider, for cash proceeds of $6.2 million, and its remaining railcar fleet to affiliates of Infinity Transportation for cash proceeds of $228.1 million. See Note 3 – Discontinued Operations for further details.

The Company And Nature Of Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

The Company And Nature Of Operations [Abstract]

(1) The Company and Nature of Operations

CAI International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (collectively, CAI or the Company), is a transportation finance company. The Company purchases equipment, primarily intermodal shipping containers, which it leases to its customers. The Company also manages equipment for third-party investors. In operating its fleet, the Company leases, re-leases and disposes of equipment and contracts for the repair, repositioning and storage of equipment.

The Company’s common stock, 8.50% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Stock and 8.50% Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Stock are each traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “CAI,” “CAI-PA” and “CAI-PB,” respectively. The Company’s corporate headquarters are located in San Francisco, California.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company sold substantially all of the assets and liabilities of its logistics business to NFI, a North American logistics provider, for cash proceeds of $6.2 million, and its remaining railcar fleet to affiliates of Infinity Transportation for cash proceeds of $228.1 million. See Note 3 – Discontinued Operations for further details.