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                             [INTERPOOL LETTERHEAD]



CONTACT:          RAOUL J. WITTEVEEN
                  (212) 916-3261

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                    INTERPOOL, INC. ACQUIRES 50% INTEREST IN
                   CONTAINER APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

PRINCETON, NJ, May 4, 1998 - Interpool, Inc. (NYSE: IPX) announced today that it
has acquired a 50% interest in Container Applications International, Inc. Under
the agreement, Interpool and Hiromitsu Ogawa, Chairman and a principal
stockholder of CAI, acquired common stock in CAI from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., such that each of Interpool and Mr. Ogawa own 50%
of CAI.

CAI, one of the fastest-growing container leasing companies in the world, has
increased its fleet of owned and operated containers from approximately 14,000
TEU's (20-foot equivalent units) in January 1993 to 225,000 TEU's today. While
Interpool focuses on long term leases of containers, CAI's business is primarily
in the short term master lease market. The transaction enables the companies to
offer a full range of container leasing services around the world.

Martin Tuchman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Interpool, stated, "We
are very pleased to be joining forces with CAI, whose container fleet is among
the newest in the industry and is managed using one of the world's most advanced
operating systems."

According to Mr. Ogawa, Chairman of CAI, "We believe that the combined container
fleets of 650,000 TEU's will constitute the third largest fleet in the container
leasing industry. This will enable CAI and Interpool to increase competition and
provide broader and more flexible service to customers around the world."

Interpool, originally founded in 1968, is one of the world's leading lessors of
cargo containers used in international trade and is the second largest lessor of
intermodal container chassis in the United States. Interpool leases its
containers and chassis to over 200 customers, including nearly all of the
world's 20 largest international container shipping lines.

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