Strategic positioning and knowledge of the structure as well as the direct competitors in the rail industry segment are important key factors for each rail manufacturer. Especially highly differentiated and volatile influencing factors are further confrontation points in this segment. The aim of the present study is the illustration of the competitive structure as well as the competitor structure in the long product market, particularly rails, from the perspective of the voestalpine Schienen GmbH in the BRIC countries. This includes the identification and analysis of the direct competitors from these countries as well as their strategic align-ments, capabilities and competences. The impulse of the study is on the one hand the investment of many rail manufacturers in modern production technologies and on the other hand the potential competitive ad-vantages of rail producers by strong backward integration in the field of the raw material and energy supply and location specific factors. This present study itself is divided into the elaboration of instruments for the analysis of the external and internal business environment as well as to formulate strategies and the derivation of strategic recommendations. The results of the present study are on the one hand the illustration of the competitive structure as well as the competitor structure in the rail manufacturing industry in the BRIC countries and on the other hand the strengths-weaknesses profiles of direct competitors and the opportunities and risks in the global rail market within a so called SWOT portfolio. The end results of the present study are practical measures for action and strategic direc-tions for the voestalpine Schienen GmbH, based on the results of the external and internal analyzes within this study.