Exhibit 99.1

Greenbrier Reports First Quarter 2014 Results;

Margin Expansion Continues, Led by Manufacturing

~ Posts Q1 EPS of $0.51, before restructuring charges ~

~ Repurchases $3.4 million of common stock ~

Lake Oswego, Oregon, January 8, 2014 – The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX) today reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended November 30, 2013.

First Quarter Highlights

Progress on Strategic Initiatives

William A. Furman, president and chief executive officer, said, “We continue to gain momentum from our strong finish to fiscal 2013, with sustained performance by Manufacturing, our largest segment, leading the way. With gross margin of 13.4%, an expansion of 110 basis points over the previous quarter, Manufacturing is meeting higher expectations set for fiscal 2014. Leasing & Services is also meeting expectations. We continue to refine our leasing model, including a reduction in the permanent capital invested in this business. Wheels, Repair & Parts produced disappointing financial results, but within the results are solid improvements at a number of locations, and about $2 million of costs that adversely affected margin, which we do not expect to recur in the future.”

“Our diversified product offerings create superior value. Currently, less than 50% of our backlog is in tank cars, with the balance in a variety of railcar types. Demand for our comprehensive line of automotive carrying railcars remains robust. In the energy markets, increasing demand for sand used in fracking techniques to extract difficult-to-access oil and gas is leading to growing sales of our small cube covered hopper cars. We still see strong demand for tank cars. Market conditions in Europe are improving, and order activity for our European operations has picked up after a long period of softer demand in the region.”

“We anticipate that new repair work, particularly in tank cars, will have a positive impact on our Wheels, Repair & Parts segment. We are progressing on necessary changes in our shop network and operations to improve performance, and expect to have better financial results in the quarters ahead.”

“Consistent with our strategy to reduce permanent capital invested in Leasing & Services, we continue to sell lease fleet assets for positive returns, while maintaining syndication and asset management revenues. Our managed fleet grew by 7,000 units during the quarter. We continue to enter into comprehensive management and maintenance solutions with our customers, an area of increasing opportunity for the Company.”

“Overall, rail fundamentals are solid. We are confident that Greenbrier is well-positioned to take advantage of a number of established and emerging opportunities, as well as to achieve our margin enhancement and capital liberation goals. We expect our business will expand across all segments, and to realize operating leverage and growth in ROIC. The $50 million stock repurchase program initiated during the first quarter is another significant step to enhance shareholder value,” concluded Furman.

Business Outlook

Based on current business trends and industry forecasts, in fiscal 2014 Greenbrier continues to believe its:

As disclosed previously, financial results in the second half of the year are expected to be stronger than the first half. Also, while gross margin is expected to increase overall, management does not believe its track will be linear.

Financial Summary

Segment Summary

Conference Call

Greenbrier will host a teleconference to discuss its first quarter 2014 results. In conjunction with this news release, Greenbrier has posted a supplemental earnings presentation to our website. Teleconference details are as follows:

Please access the site 10 minutes prior to the start time. Following the call, a webcast replay will be available for 30 days. Telephone replay will be available through January 26, 2014, at 203-369-3048.

About Greenbrier Companies

Greenbrier (www.gbrx.com), headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry. Greenbrier builds new railroad freight cars in its four manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Mexico and marine barges at its U.S. facility. It also repairs and refurbishes freight cars and provides wheels and railcar parts at 35 locations across North America. Greenbrier builds new railroad freight cars and refurbishes freight cars for the European market through both its operations in Poland and various subcontractor facilities throughout Europe. Greenbrier owns approximately 8,300 railcars, and performs management services for approximately 231,000 railcars.

“SAFE HARBOR” STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected new railcar production volumes and schedules, expected customer demand for the Company’s products and services, plans to increase manufacturing capacity, restructuring plans, new railcar delivery volumes and schedules, growth in demand for the Company’s railcar services and parts business, and the Company’s future financial performance. Greenbrier uses words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecast,” “potential,” “goal,” “contemplates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “hopes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “may,” “can,” “designed to,” “foreseeable future” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from in the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, reported backlog is not indicative of our financial results; turmoil in the credit markets and financial services industry; high levels of indebtedness and compliance with the terms of our indebtedness; write-downs of goodwill, intangibles and other assets in future periods; sufficient availability of borrowing capacity; fluctuations in demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more significant customers; customer payment defaults or related issues; actual future costs and the availability of materials and a trained workforce; failure to design or manufacture new products or technologies or to achieve certification or market acceptance of new products or technologies; steel or specialty component price fluctuations and availability and scrap surcharges; changes in product mix and the mix between segments; labor disputes, energy shortages or operating difficulties that might disrupt manufacturing operations or the flow of cargo; production difficulties and product delivery delays as a result of, among other matters, changing technologies, production of new railcar types, or non-performance of subcontractors or suppliers; ability to obtain suitable contracts for the sale of leased equipment and risks related to car hire and residual values; difficulties associated with governmental regulation, including environmental liabilities; integration of current or future acquisitions; succession planning; all as may be discussed in more detail under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Forward Looking Statements” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013, and our other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s opinions only as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Net earnings excluding restructuring charges, Adjusted EBITDA, and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges are not financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). We define Net earnings excluding restructuring charges as Net earnings before restructuring charges (after-tax). We define Adjusted EBITDA as Net earnings attributable to Greenbrier before interest and foreign exchange, income tax expense, restructuring charges and depreciation and amortization. We define Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges as Net earnings excluding restructuring charges before interest and debt issuance costs (net of tax) on convertible notes divided by Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding. Net earnings excluding restructuring charges, Adjusted EBITDA, and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges are performance measurement tools used by Greenbrier. You should not consider Net earnings excluding restructuring charges, Adjusted EBITDA, and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges in isolation or as a substitute for other financial statement data determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because Adjusted EBITDA and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and are susceptible to varying calculations, the Adjusted EBITDA and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges measures presented may differ from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, unaudited)

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands, unaudited)

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Operating Results by Quarter for 2013 are as follows:

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, unaudited)

Segment Information

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, excluding backlog and delivery units, unaudited)

Reconciliation of Net earnings to Adjusted EBITDA

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Reconciliation of common shares outstanding and diluted earnings per share

The shares used in the computation of the Company’s basic and diluted earnings per common share and Diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges are reconciled as follows:

Diluted earnings per share was calculated using the more dilutive of two approaches. The first approach includes the dilutive effect of outstanding warrants and shares underlying the 2026 Convertible notes in the share count using the treasury stock method. The second approach supplements the first by including the “if converted” effect of the 2018 Convertible notes issued in March 2011. Under the “if converted method” debt issuance and interest costs, both net of tax, associated with the convertible notes are added back to net earnings and the share count is increased by the shares underlying the convertible notes. The 2026 Convertible notes would only be included in the calculation of both approaches if the current stock price is greater than the initial conversion price of $48.05 using the treasury stock method.

Reconciliation of Net earnings attributable to Greenbrier to Net earnings excluding restructuring charges

THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

Reconciliation of basic earnings per share to economic earnings per share excluding restructuring charges

The shares used in the computation of the Company’s basic and economic earnings per common share excluding restructuring charges are reconciled as follows:

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