CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Current assets
Current portion of restricted cash		$ 600	$ 600
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $400 and $393 at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively		61,843	65,310
Current portion of net investment in finance leases		80,308	78,992
Current portion of financing receivable		10,615	9,550
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		5,788	6,663
Total current assets		207,067	214,662
Restricted cash		12,087	12,355
Rental equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $691,842 and $669,360 at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively		1,808,001	1,781,321
Net investment in finance leases		585,016	550,573
Financing receivable		50,568	48,888
Derivative instruments		9,586
Other non-current assets		4,280	4,833
Total assets	[1]	2,676,605	2,612,632
Current liabilities
Accounts payable		3,231	3,666
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		26,569	29,598
Unearned revenue		3,260	3,029
Current portion of debt		183,878	183,448
Rental equipment payable		61,582	100,509
Total current liabilities		278,520	320,250
Debt		1,642,879	1,562,283
Derivative instruments			80
Net deferred income tax liability		25,532	24,442
Other non-current liabilities		3,467	3,337
Total liabilities	[2]	1,950,398	1,910,392
Stockholders' equity
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share; authorized 84,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 17,304,111 and 17,562,779 shares at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively		2	2
Additional paid-in capital		89,308	100,795
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		1,370	(5,743)
Retained earnings		531,662	503,321
Total stockholders' equity		726,207	702,240
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity		2,676,605	2,612,632
Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock [Member]
Stockholders' equity
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share; authorized 10,000,000		54,990	54,990
Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock [Member]
Stockholders' equity
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share; authorized 10,000,000		48,875	48,875
Consolidated Entity Excluding Variable Interest Entities (VIE) [Member]
Current assets
Cash		23,971	26,691
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Current assets
Cash		23,942	26,856
Rental equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $691,842 and $669,360 at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively		73,212	77,907
Net investment in finance leases		2,150	2,683
Current liabilities
Current portion of debt		43,392	41,344
Debt		$ 48,120	$ 59,519

[1] Total assets at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 include the following assets of certain variable interest entities (VIEs) that can only be used to settle the liabilities of those VIEs: Cash, $23,942 and $26,856; Net investment in finance leases, $2,150 and $2,683; and Rental equipment, net of accumulated depreciation, $73,212, and $77,907, respectively.

[2] Total liabilities at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 include the following VIE liabilities for which the VIE creditors do not have recourse to CAI International, Inc.: Current portion of debt, $43,392 and $41,344; Debt, $48,120 and $59,519, respectively.