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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

FORM 10-K

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002

OR

[  ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from      to     .

Commission file number 0-23886

CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (415) 677-8990

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

UNITS OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X] . [No].

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [X]

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant is not applicable.

Documents incorporated by Reference

CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year
Ended December 31, 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.     Business

(a)

General Development of Business

     The Registrant is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of California on August 26, 1993, for the purpose of owning and leasing marine cargo containers, special purpose containers and container-related equipment. The Registrant was initially capitalized with $100 and commenced offering its limited partnership interests to the public subsequent to December 17, 1993, pursuant to its Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 33-69356). On October 12, 1994, the Registrant filed a Post-Effective Amendment to its Registration Statement on Form S-1. The offering terminated on December 15, 1995.

     The Registrant raised $143,031,380 in subscription proceeds. The following table sets forth the use of said subscription proceeds:

     The general partner of the Registrant is Cronos Capital Corp. (“CCC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cronos Holdings/Investments (U.S.), Inc., a Delaware corporation. These and other affiliated companies are ultimately wholly-owned by The Cronos Group, a holding company registered in Luxembourg (the “Parent Company”) and are collectively referred to as the “Group”. The activities of the container division of the Group are managed through the Group’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Cronos Containers Limited (the “Leasing Company”). The Leasing Company manages the leasing operations of all equipment owned by the Group on its own behalf or managed on behalf of other third-party container owners, including all programs organized by CCC.

     On December 1, 1993, the Leasing Company entered into a Leasing Agent Agreement with the Registrant assuming the responsibility for all container leasing activities.

     For a discussion of recent developments in the Registrant’s business, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result of Operations.”

     For information concerning the containers acquired by the Registrant, see Item 2, “Properties.”

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(b)

Financial Information About Segments

     An operating segment is a component of an enterprise that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses, whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise’s chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and about which separate financial information is available. The Leasing Company’s management operates the Registrant’s container fleet as a homogenous unit and has determined that as such it has a single reportable operating segment.

     The Registrant derives revenues from dry cargo containers, refrigerated containers and tank containers. As of December 31, 2002, the Registrant operated 24,501 twenty-foot, 8,465 forty-foot and 2,097 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as 460 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks. A summary of gross lease revenue earned by the Leasing Company, on behalf of the Registrant, by product, for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000 follows:

     Due to the Registrant’s lack of information regarding the physical location of its fleet of containers when on lease in the global shipping trade, it is impracticable to provide the geographic area information. Any attempt to separate “foreign” operations from “domestic” operations would be dependent on definitions and assumptions that are so subjective as to render the information meaningless and potentially misleading.

     No single sub-lessee of the Leasing Company contributed more than 10% of the Leasing Company’s rental revenue earned on behalf of the Registrant during 2002, 2001 and 2000.

(c)

Narrative Description of Business

     (c)(1)(i) A marine cargo container is a reusable metal container designed for the efficient carriage of cargo with a minimum of exposure to loss from damage or theft. Containers are manufactured to conform to worldwide standards of container dimensions and container ship fittings adopted by the International Standards Organization (“ISO”) in 1968. The standard container is either 20' long × 8' wide × 8'6'' high (one twenty-foot equivalent unit (“TEU”), the standard unit of physical measurement in the container industry) or 40' long × 8' wide × 8'6'' high (two TEU). Standardization of the construction, maintenance and handling of containers allows containers to be picked up, dropped off, stored and repaired efficiently throughout the world. This standardization is the foundation on which the container industry has developed.

     Standard dry cargo containers are rectangular boxes with no moving parts, other than doors, and are typically made of steel. They are constructed to carry a wide variety of cargoes ranging from heavy industrial raw materials to light-weight finished goods. Specialized containers such as refrigerated and tank containers are utilized for the transport of temperature-sensitive goods and for the carriage of liquid cargo. Cellular palletwide containers (“CPCs”) provide shipping lines with a container with extra width for the carriage of unitized or palletized cargoes. Dry cargo containers currently constitute approximately 88% (in TEU) of the worldwide container fleet. Refrigerated and tank containers currently constitute approximately 5% (in TEU) of the worldwide container fleet, with open-tops and other specialized containers constituting the remaining 7%.

     One of the primary benefits of containerization has been the ability of the shipping industry to effectively lower freight rates due to the efficiencies created by standardized intermodal containers. Containers can be handled much more efficiently than loose cargo and are typically shipped via several modes of transportation, including truck, rail and ship. Containers require loading and unloading only once and remain sealed until arrival at the final destination, significantly reducing transport time, labor and handling costs and losses due to damage and theft. Efficient movement of containerized cargo between ship and shore reduces the amount of time that a ship must spend in port and reduces the transit time of freight moves.

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     The logistical advantages and reduced freight rates brought about by containerization have been major catalysts for world trade growth since the late 1960’s, resulting in an increased demand for containers. The world’s container fleet has grown from an estimated 270,000 TEU in 1969 to approximately 16 million TEU by the end of 2002.

     The container leasing business is cyclical, and depends largely upon the rate of growth in the volume of world trade. The container leasing industry has experienced cyclical downturns during the last sixteen years.

     Benefits of Leasing

     Leasing companies own approximately 44% of the world’s container fleet with the balance owned predominantly by shipping lines. Shipping lines, which traditionally operate on tight profit margins, often supplement their owned fleet of containers by leasing a portion of their equipment from container leasing companies and, in doing so, achieve the following financial and operational benefits:

	•		Leasing allows the shipping lines to utilize the equipment they need without having to make large capital expenditures;
	•		Leasing offers a shipping line an alternative source of financing in a traditionally capital-intensive industry;
	•		Leasing enables shipping lines to expand their routes and market shares at a relatively inexpensive cost without making a permanent commitment to support their new structure;
	•		Leasing allows shipping lines to respond to changing seasonal and trade route demands, thereby optimizing their capital investment and storage costs.

     Types of Leases

     On behalf of the Registrant, the Leasing Company leases the Registrant’s containers primarily to shipping lines operating in major trade routes (see Item 1(d)). Most if not all of the Registrant’s marine dry cargo containers are leased pursuant to operating leases, whereby the containers are leased to the ocean carrier on a daily basis for any desired length of time, with the flexibility of picking up and dropping off containers at various agreed upon locations around the world. Some of the Registrant’s containers may be leased pursuant to term leases, which may have durations of one to five years. Specialized containers are generally leased on longer-term leases because the higher cost, value and complexity of this equipment makes it more expensive to redeliver and lease out.

	•		Master lease. Master leases are short-term leases under which a customer reserves the right to lease a certain number of containers, as needed under a general agreement between the lessor and the lessee. Such leases provide customers with greater flexibility by allowing customers to pick up and drop off containers where and when needed, subject to restrictions and availability, on pre-agreed terms. The commercial terms of master leases are usually negotiated annually. Master leases also define the number of containers that may be returned within each calendar month, the return locations and applicable drop-off charges. Due to the increased flexibility they offer, master leases usually command higher per-diem rates and generate more ancillary fees (including pick-up, drop-off, handling and off-hire fees) than term leases. Master lease agreements have a duration of less than one year and include one-way, repositioning and round-trip leases. Ocean carriers generally use one-way leases to manage trade imbalances (where more containerized cargo moves in one direction than another) by picking up a container in one port and dropping it off at another location after one or more legs of a voyage.
	•		Term lease. Term leases are for a fixed period of time and include both long and short-term commitments, with most extending from three to five years. Term lease agreements may contain early termination penalties that apply in the event of early redelivery. In most cases, however, equipment is not returned prior to the expiration of the lease. Term leases provide greater revenue stability to the lessor, but at lower lease rates than master leases. Ocean carriers use long-term leases when they have a need for identified containers for a specified term. They differ from master leases in that they define the number of containers to be leased and the lease term.

     The percentage of equipment on term leases as compared to master leases varies widely among leasing companies, depending upon each company’s strategy or margins, operating costs and cash flows.

     Lease rates depend on several factors including the type of lease, length of term, maintenance provided, type and age of the equipment, location and availability, and market conditions.

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     The terms and conditions of the Leasing Company’s leases provide that customers are responsible for paying all taxes and service charges arising from container use, maintaining the containers in good and safe operating condition while on lease and paying for repairs, excluding ordinary wear and tear, upon redelivery. Some leases provide for a “damage protection plan” whereby lessees, for an additional payment (which may be in the form of a higher per-diem rate), are relieved of the responsibility of paying some of the repair costs upon redelivery of the containers. The Leasing Company provides this service to selected customers. Repairs provided under such plans are carried out by the same depots, under the same procedures, as are repairs to containers not covered by such plans. Customers also are required to insure leased containers against physical damage and loss, and against third party liability for loss, damage, bodily injury or death.

     Customers

     The Registrant is not dependent upon any particular customer or group of customers of the Leasing Company. None of those customers account for more than 10% of the Leasing Company’s rental revenue earned on behalf of the Registrant. Substantially all of the customers of the Leasing Company are billed and pay in United States dollars.

     The Leasing Company sets maximum credit limits for the Registrant’s customers, limiting the number of containers leased to each according to established credit criteria. The Leasing Company continually tracks its credit exposure to each customer. The Leasing Company’s credit committee meets quarterly to analyze the performance of the Registrant’s customers and to recommend actions to be taken in order to minimize credit risks. The Leasing Company uses specialist third party credit information services and reports prepared by local staff to assess credit applications.

     The Registrant may be subject to unexpected loss in rental revenue from lessees of its containers that default under their container lease agreements with the Leasing Company. The Registrant and Leasing Company maintain insurance against loss or damage to the containers, loss of lease revenue in certain cases and costs of container recovery and repair in the event that a customer declares bankruptcy.

     Fleet Profile

     The Registrant acquired high-quality dry cargo containers manufactured to specifications that exceed ISO standards and are designed to minimize repair and operating costs.

     Dry cargo containers are the most commonly used type of container in the shipping industry. The Registrant’s dry cargo container fleet is constructed of all Corten® steel (i.e., Corten® roofs, walls, doors and undercarriage), which is a high-tensile steel yielding greater damage and corrosion resistance than mild steel.

     Refrigerated containers are used to transport temperature-sensitive products, such as meat, fruit, vegetables and photographic film. All of the Registrant’s refrigerated containers have high-grade stainless steel interiors. The majority of the Registrant’s 20-foot refrigerated containers have high-grade stainless steel walls, while most of the Registrant’s 40-foot refrigerated containers are steel framed with aluminum outer walls to reduce weight. As with the dry cargo containers, all refrigerated containers are designed to minimize repair and maintenance and maximize damage resistance.

     Tank containers are constructed in compliance with International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) standards and recommendations. The tanks purchased by the Registrant have all been IMO-1 type tanks constructed to comply with IMO recommendations which require specific pressure ratings and shell thicknesses. These tanks are designed to carry highly flammable materials, corrosives, toxics and oxidizing substances, but are also capable of carrying non-hazardous materials and foodstuffs. They have a capacity of 21,000-24,000 liters and are generally insulated and equipped with steam or electrical heating.

     The Registrant purchased its dry cargo containers from manufacturers in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Italy, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The Registrant’s refrigerated containers were purchased mainly from Korean manufacturers. The majority of its refrigeration units were purchased from Carrier Transicold, the primary container refrigeration unit supplier in the United States. The Registrant’s tank containers were purchased mainly from United Kingdom manufacturers.

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     As of December 31, 2002, the Registrant owned 24,501 twenty-foot, 8,465 forty-foot and 2,097 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as 460 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks. The following table sets forth the number of containers on lease, by container type and lease type as of December 31, 2002:

     The Leasing Company makes payments to the Registrant based upon rentals collected from customers after deducting certain operating expenses associated with the containers, such as the base management fee payable to the Leasing Company, certain expense reimbursements payable to CCC and the Leasing Company, the costs of maintenance and repairs not performed by lessees, independent agent fees and expenses, depot expenses for handling, inspection and storage, and additional insurance.

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     Repair and Maintenance

     All containers are inspected and repaired when redelivered by customers, who are obligated to pay for all damage repair, excluding wear and tear, according to standardized industry guidelines. Some customers are relieved of the responsibility of paying some repair costs upon redelivery of containers, as described under “Description of Business – Lease Profile.” Depots in major port areas perform repair and maintenance that is verified by either independent surveyors or the Leasing Company’s technical and operations staff.

     Before any repair or refurbishment is authorized on older containers in the Registrant’s fleet, the Leasing Company’s technical and operations staff reviews the age, condition and type of container, and its suitability for continued leasing. The Leasing Company compares the cost of such repair or refurbishment with the prevailing market resale price that might be obtained for that container and makes the appropriate decision whether to repair or sell the container. The Leasing Company is authorized to make this decision on behalf of the Registrant and makes this decision by applying the same standards to the Registrant’s containers as to its own containers.

     Disposition of Used Containers

     The Leasing Company estimates that the period for which a container may be used as a leased marine cargo container ranges from 12 to 15 years. Tank containers may generally be used for 12 to 18 years. On behalf of the Registrant, the Leasing Company disposes of used containers in a worldwide market in which buyers include wholesalers, mini-storage operations, construction companies and others. Although a used refrigerated container will command a higher price than a used dry cargo container, a dry cargo container will achieve a higher percentage of its original price. The market for used containers generally depends on new container prices, the quantity of containers targeted for disposal and the overall lease market for containers at a particular location. As the Registrant’s fleet ages, a larger proportion of its revenue and cash flow may be derived from selling its containers.

     Operations

     The Registrant’s container sales and marketing operations are conducted through the Leasing Company in the United Kingdom, with support provided by area offices and dedicated agents located in San Francisco; New Jersey; Antwerp; Genoa; Gothenburg; Hamburg; Singapore; Hong Kong; Sydney; Tokyo; Taipei; Seoul; Rio de Janeiro; Shanghai and Madras.

     The Leasing Company also maintains agency relationships with approximately 20 independent agents around the world, who are generally paid a commission based upon the amount of revenues generated in the region or the number of containers that are leased from their area. The agents are located in jurisdictions where the volume of the Leasing Company’s business necessitates a presence in the area but is not sufficient to justify a fully-functioning Leasing Company office or dedicated agent. Agents provide marketing support to the area offices covering the region, together with limited operational support.

     In addition, the Leasing Company relies on the services of approximately 300 independently-owned and operated depots around the world to inspect, repair, maintain and store containers while off-hire. The Leasing Company’s area offices authorize all container movements into and out of the depot and supervise all repairs and maintenance performed by the depot. The Leasing Company’s technical staff sets the standards for repair of its owned and managed fleet throughout the world and monitors the quality of depot repair work. The depots provide a vital link to the Leasing Company’s operations, as the redelivery of a container into a depot is the point at which the container is off-hired from one customer and repaired in preparation for re-leasing to the next customer.

     The Leasing Company’s global network is integrated with its computer system and provides 24-hour communication between offices, agents and depots. The system allows the Leasing Company to manage and control the Registrant’s fleet on a global basis, providing it with the responsiveness and flexibility necessary to service the master lease market effectively. This system is an integral part of the Leasing Company’s service, as it processes information received from the various offices, generates billings to the Leasing Company’s lessees and produces a wide range of reports on all aspects of the Leasing Company’s leasing activities. The system records the life history of each container, including the length of time on and off lease and repair costs, as well as port activity trends, leasing activity and equipment data per customer. The operations and marketing data is fully interfaced with the finance and accounting system to provide revenue, cost and asset information to management and staff around the world.

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     Insurance

     The Leasing Company’s lease agreements typically require lessees to obtain insurance to cover all risks of physical damage and loss of the equipment under lease, as well as public liability and property damage insurance. However, the precise nature and amount of the insurance carried by each ocean carrier varies from lessee to lessee. In addition, the Registrant has purchased secondary insurance effective in the event that a lessee fails to have adequate primary coverage. This insurance covers liability arising out of bodily injury and/or property damage as a result of the ownership and operation of the containers, as well as insurance against loss or damage to the containers, loss of lease revenue in certain cases and cost of container recovery and repair in the event that a customer goes into bankruptcy. The Registrant believes that the nature and the amounts of its insurance are customary in the container leasing industry and subject to standard industry deductions and exclusions.

     (c)(1)(ii) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(iii) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(iv) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(v) The Registrant’s containers are leased globally; therefore, seasonal fluctuations are minimal. Other economic and business factors to which the transportation industry in general and the container leasing industry in particular are subject, include fluctuations in general business conditions and fluctuations in supply and demand for equipment resulting from, among other things, obsolescence, changes in the methods or economics of a particular mode of transportation or changes in governmental regulations or safety standards.

     (c)(1)(vi) The Registrant established an initial working capital reserve of approximately 1% of subscription proceeds raised. In addition, the Registrant may reserve additional amounts from anticipated cash distributions to the partners to meet working capital requirements.

     Amounts due under master leases are calculated at the end of each month and billed approximately six to eight days thereafter. Amounts due under short-term and long-term leases are set forth in the respective lease agreements and are generally payable monthly. However, payment is normally received within 45-100 days of billing. Past due penalties are not customarily collected from lessees and, accordingly, are not generally levied by the Leasing Company against lessees of the Registrant’s containers.

     (c)(1)(vii) For the year ended December 31, 2002, no single sub-lessee of the Leasing Company accounted for more than 10% of the Leasing Company’s rental income earned on behalf of the Registrant. The Registrant does not believe that its ongoing business is dependent upon a single customer, although the loss of one or more of its largest customers could have an adverse effect upon its business.

     (c)(1)(viii) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(ix) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(x) Competition among container leasing companies is based upon several factors, including the location and availability of inventory, lease rates, the type, quality and condition of the containers, the quality and flexibility of the service offered and the professional relationship between the customer and the lessor. Other factors include the speed with which a leasing company can prepare its containers for lease and the ease with which a lessee believes it can do business with a lessor or its local area office. Not all container leasing companies compete in the same market, as some supply only dry cargo containers and not specialized containers. In addition to dry cargo containers, refrigerated containers and tanks, the Leasing Company supplies a wide range of dry freight special containers.

     The Leasing Company, on behalf of the Registrant, competes with various container leasing companies in the markets in which it conducts business. Mergers and acquisitions have been a feature of the container leasing industry for over a decade and the leasing market is essentially comprised of three distinct groups: the very large (in TEU terms) companies, GE SeaCo, Textainer Group, Transamerica Leasing, Triton Container International Ltd. and Interpool Inc., who between them, with fleets of around 1 million TEU each in mid-2002, control approximately two thirds of the total leased fleet; a middle tier of companies possessing fleets in the 200,000 to 500,000 TEU range; and the smaller more specialized fleet operators. In recent years, several major leasing companies, as well as numerous smaller ones, have been acquired by competitors. The Leasing Company believes that the current trend toward consolidation in the container leasing industry

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will continue, up to a point. There appears to be an upper limit to the size of the optimum fleet, beyond which dis-economies of scale and/or barriers against further market share development become apparent. Furthermore, ocean carriers have a tendency to support a number of lessors simultaneously in order to maximize competition and increase the number of available locations for redelivery of containers. Economies of scale, worldwide operations, diversity, size of fleet and financial strength are increasingly important to the successful operation of a container leasing business. Additionally, as containerization continues to grow, and as regions such as China, South America and the Indian sub-continent generate an increasing volume of containerized cargo, customers may demand more flexibility from leasing companies regarding per-diem rates, pick-up and drop-off locations, and the availability of containers.

     In recent years, the Leasing Company and other lessors have developed certain internet-based applications. For the Leasing Company, these applications allow customers access to make on-line product inquiries. The Leasing Company is continuing to develop this side of its business and will introduce other internet options as soon as suitable applications are identified.

     Some of the Leasing Company’s competitors have greater financial resources than the Leasing Company and may be more capable of offering lower per diem rates on a larger fleet. In the Leasing Company’s experience, however, ocean carriers will generally lease containers from more than one leasing company in order to minimize dependence on a single supplier. Furthermore, by having as many suppliers as possible, the carrier is able to maximize the number of off-hires and off-hire locations available, as typically each supplier may limit the number of containers that can be off-hired by location. The advantage to the carrier is that this prevents the carrier from being burdened with an excess number of off-hired containers, which incur both storage and per diem charges, in a low demand market.

     (c)(1)(xi) Inapplicable.

     (c)(1)(xii) Environmental Matters

     Countries that are signatories to the Montreal Protocol on the environment agreed in November 1992 to restrict the use of environmentally destructive refrigerants, banning production (but not use) of refrigerant gases that are chlorofluorocarbon compounds (“CFCs”) beginning in January 1996. CFCs are used in the operation, insulation and manufacture of refrigerated containers. The environmental impact of CFCs has become increasingly prominent. On January 1, 2001, it became illegal for environmentally-destructive refrigerants to be handled, other than for disposal, in most member countries of the European Union. A portion of the Registrant’s equipment portfolio consists of special purpose containers, primarily refrigerated containers. All of the Registrant’s refrigerated containers use non-CFC refrigerant gas in the operation and insulation of the containers.

     The Leasing Company has determined that a retrofit of any containers owned by the Registrant is not necessary. In the unlikely event that retrofitting expenses should be required, the Registrant believes they would not be material to its results of operations.

     (c)(1)(xiii) The Registrant, as a limited partnership, is managed by CCC, the general partner, and accordingly does not itself have any employees. At February 28, 2003, CCC had 11 employees, consisting of 3 officers, 5 other managers and 3 clerical and staff personnel.

     (d)  Financial Information About Geographic Areas

     The Registrant’s business is not divided between foreign or domestic operations. The Registrant’s business is the leasing of containers worldwide to ocean carriers. To this extent, the Registrant’s operations are subject to the fluctuations of world economic and political conditions. Such factors may affect the pattern and levels of world trade.

     The Registrant believes that the profitability of, and risks associated with, leases to foreign customers is generally the same as those of leases to domestic customers. The Leasing Company’s leases generally require all payments to be made in United States currency.

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Item 2. Properties

     As of December 31, 2002, the Registrant owned 24,501 twenty-foot, 8,465 forty-foot and 2,097 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as 460 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks, suitable for transporting cargo by rail, sea or highway. The average age, manufacturers’ invoice cost and estimated useful life of the Registrant’s containers as of December 31, 2002 was as follows:

     Utilization by lessees of the Registrant’s containers fluctuates over time depending on the supply of and demand for containers in the Registrant’s inventory locations. During 2002, utilization of the dry cargo and refrigerated container fleet averaged 75% and 92% respectively. Utilization of the tank container fleet averaged 79%.

     During 2002, the Registrant disposed of 1,044 twenty-foot, 107 forty-foot and 27 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers at an average net loss of $495 per container.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

     Inapplicable.

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

     Inapplicable.

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PART II

Item 5.      Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

       (a)       Market Information

       (c)      Dividends

       Inapplicable. For the distributions made by the Registrant to its limited partners, see Item 6, “Selected Financial Data.”

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Liquidity and Capital Resources

     The Registrant’s primary objective is to generate cash flow from operations for distribution to its limited partners and during the initial years of its operation, reinvest excess cash flow in additional equipment. Aside from the initial working capital reserve retained from gross subscription proceeds (equal to approximately 1% of such proceeds), the Registrant relies primarily on container rental receipts to meet this objective, as well as to finance operating needs. No credit lines are maintained to finance working capital.

     Cash distributions from operations are allocated 5% to the general partner and 95% to the limited partners. Distributions of sales proceeds are allocated 1% to the general partner and 99% to the limited partners. This sharing arrangement will remain in place until the limited partners have received aggregate distributions in an amount equal to their capital contributions plus an 8% cumulative, compounded (daily) annual return on their adjusted capital contributions. Thereafter, all distributions will be allocated 15% to the general partner and 85% to the limited partners, pursuant to Section 6.1(b) of the Registrant’s Partnership Agreement. Cash distributions from operations to the general partner in excess of 5% of distributable cash will be considered an incentive fee and compensation to the general partner.

     From inception through February 28, 2003, the Registrant has distributed $83,754,867 in cash from operations, and $893,945 in cash from container sales proceeds to its limited partners, or 59% of the limited partners’ original invested capital. Distributions are paid monthly based primarily on each quarter’s cash flow from operations. Monthly distributions are also affected by periodic increases or decreases to working capital reserves, as deemed appropriate by the general partner.

     At December 31, 2002, the Registrant had $4,379,512 in cash and cash equivalents, an increase of $667,425 and $252,707 from the cash balances at December 31, 2001 and 2000, respectively. The Registrant invests its working capital, as well as cash flows from operations and the sale of containers that have not yet been distributed to CCC or its limited partners in money market funds.

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     Cash from Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities was $6,714,548 and $7,708,141 during 2002 and 2001, respectively, primarily generated from the billing and collection of net lease revenue.

     Cash from Investing Activities: Net cash provided by investing activities during 2002 was comprised of $863,338 in proceeds generated from the sale of rental equipment.

     Cash from Financing Activities: Net cash used in financing activities was $6,910,461 during 2002 compared to $8,580,490 during 2001. These amounts represent distributions to the Registrant’s general and limited partners.

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2002 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2001

     A Leasing Agent Agreement (“Agreement”) exists between the Registrant and the Leasing Company, whereby the Leasing Company has the responsibility to manage the leasing operations of all equipment owned by the Registrant. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Leasing Company is responsible for leasing, managing and re-leasing the Registrant’s containers to ocean carriers, and has full discretion over which ocean carriers and suppliers of goods and services it may deal with. The Leasing Agent Agreement permits the Leasing Company to use the containers owned by the Registrant, together with other containers owned or managed by the Leasing Company and its affiliates, as part of a single fleet operated without regard to ownership. At December 31, 2002, 94% of the original equipment remained in the Registrant’s fleet, as compared to 97% at December 31, 2001. The following chart summarizes the composition of the Registrant’s fleet (based on container type) at December 31, 2002.

Improved market conditions for all container types and the implementation of several Leasing Company marketing initiatives during 2002 resulted in a 46% reduction in the Registrant’s off-hire container inventories. Utilization increased from 67% at the beginning of the year to 81% at December 31, 2002.

     Over the past two years, the slowdown and uneven recovery in the global economy has led to reduced levels of capital available for new container investment. The lower levels of new container production during 2001 and the first half of 2002 addressed, to some extent, the problems of container over-supply created by the higher levels of new container production achieved during 1999 and 2000. As a result, demand increased for the existing container fleets of leasing companies and shipping lines, including the Registrant’s containers. During 2002, the surge in demand for existing containers contributed to reducing off-hire inventories primarily in Asia, and to a lesser extent Europe and North America. In many parts of Asia and particularly in the south eastern ports, the demand for cargo containers exceeded available supplies. To exploit such opportunities, the Leasing Company repositioned off-hire equipment to locations of greatest demand and pursued leasing opportunities through its global network of marketing resources.

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     The Registrant’s average fleet size and utilization rates for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000 were as follows:

     Since December 2001, the combined per diem rate for the Registrant’s fleet of dry cargo containers declined by approximately 16%. Most of this decline occurred in the first three months of 2002 and is attributable to three main factors:

	1.		Per diem rental rates decreased in correlation with the reduction of new container prices and interest rate levels;
	2.		The Leasing Company converted lease agreements with certain shipping lines from master to long-term lease, providing greater revenue stability but at lower lease rates than those earned under master leases; and,
	3.		The Leasing Company initiated new long term leases for older equipment resulting in lower per diem rates, while significantly reducing off-hire container inventory levels.

     An improvement in lease per-diem rates is not expected until new container prices increase to much higher levels. The effect of the reduction in per diem rates, combined with the decline in the Registrant’s fleet size, contributed to a reduction in gross rental revenue (a component of net lease revenue), but also contributed to significantly lower direct operating expenses due to the reduction in storage and other inventory related costs.

     The demand for cargo containers has continued into early 2003. However, wide-ranging concerns remain about waning consumer confidence within the world’s economies, a rise in oil prices, weak global stock markets, geopolitical concerns arising from uncertainties with Iraq and North Korea, as well as an increase in new container production, which may temper the current demand for leased containers.

     Despite recent improvements in container leasing market conditions, the effect of the sporadic global economic recovery on the container leasing industry’s customers, the shipping lines, coupled with their acquisition of new, larger container ships, has created a condition of excess shipping capacity. The uncertainty over the financial strength of the shipping industry appears to favor the larger more established shipping lines. The Registrant, CCC and the Leasing Company continue to remain cautious, as some shipping lines have reported operating losses during 2002. The financial impact of such losses on these shipping lines may eventually influence the demand for leased containers as some shipping lines may experience additional financial difficulties, consolidate or become insolvent. Although the ultimate outcome, as well as its impact on the container leasing industry and the Registrant’s results of operations, is unknown, CCC, on behalf of the Registrant, will work closely with the Leasing Company to monitor outstanding receivables, collections, and credit exposure to various existing and new customers.

     The primary component of the Registrant’s results of operations is net lease revenue. Net lease revenue is determined by deducting direct operating expenses, management fees and reimbursed administrative expenses, from rental revenues billed by the Leasing Company from the leasing of the Registrant’s containers. Net lease revenue is directly related to the size, utilization and per-diem rental rates of the Registrant’s fleet.

     Net lease revenue was $7,046,605 for the year ended December 31, 2002 compared to $7,581,717 for the prior year. The decrease was due to a $1,054,797 decline in gross rental revenue partially offset by a $436,927 decrease in rental equipment operating expenses from the year ended December 31, 2001. Gross rental revenue was impacted by lower per-diem rental rates and smaller size fleet. The decrease in direct operating expense was attributable to the Registrant’s higher utilization rate in 2002, and its impact on activity based expenses such as storage and handling. Other components of net lease revenue, including management fees, and reimbursed administrative expenses, were lower by a combined $82,758 when compared to 2001, and partially offset the decline in gross lease revenue. This decline was attributable to the operating performance of the Registrant’s fleet.

15

     Depreciation expense of $7,494,889 in 2002 was $60,286 greater than in 2001. Effective June 1, 2001, the Registrant changed the estimated life of its rental container equipment from an estimated 12-year life to a 15-year life, and its estimated salvage value from 30% to 10% of original equipment cost. The effect of these changes was an increase in depreciation expense of approximately $147,000 for 2002.

     Other general and administrative expenses were $191,094 in 2002, a decrease of $103,404 of 35% when compared to 2001. Contributing to this decrease were declines in professional fees, costs related to investor communications, and net exchange rate losses.

     Net loss on disposal of equipment was a result of the Registrant’s disposal of 1,178 containers in 2002, as compared to 225 containers during 2001. These disposals resulted in a net loss of $582,786 for 2002, compared to a net loss of $35,926 for 2001. The Registrant believes that the net loss on container disposals in 2002 was a result of various factors, including the age, condition, suitability for continued leasing, as well as the geographical location of the containers when disposed. These factors will continue to influence the decision to repair or dispose of a container when it is returned by a lessee, as well as the amount of sales proceeds received and the related gain or loss on container disposals. The level of the Registrant’s container disposals in subsequent periods will also contribute to fluctuations in the net gain or loss on disposals.

Year Ended December 31, 2001 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2000

     Net lease revenue was $7,581,717 for the year 2001 compared to $10,272,079 for the prior year. The decrease was due to a $2,666,779 decline in gross rental revenue and an $329,692 increase in rental equipment operating expenses from the year 2000. Gross rental revenue was impacted by lower per-diem rental rates and lower combined fleet utilization rates. The increase in direct operating expense was attributable to the Registrant’s lower utilization rate in 2001, and its impact on activity based expenses such as storage, handling and repair and maintenance. Other components of net lease revenue, including management fees, and reimbursed administrative expenses, were lower by a combined $306,110 when compared to the year 2000, and partially offset the decline in gross lease revenue. This decline was attributable to the operating performance of the Registrant’s fleet.

     Depreciation expense of $7,434,603 in 2001 was $140,691 greater than 2000. Effective June 1, 2001, the Registrant changed the estimated life of its rental container equipment from an estimated 12 year life to a 15 year life, and its estimated salvage value from 30% to 10% of original equipment cost. The effect of these changes was an increase in depreciation expense of approximately $208,000 in the year 2001.

     Other general and administrative expenses increased to $294,498 in 2001, from $179,242 in 2000. Contributing to this increase were professional fees and costs related to investor communications, and net exchange rate losses.

     Net (loss) gain on disposal of equipment was a result of the Registrant disposing of 225 containers during 2001, as compared to 293 containers during 2000. These disposals resulted in a net loss of $35,926 for 2001, as compared to a net gain of $182,478 for 2000. The Registrant believes that the net loss on container disposals in 2001 was a result of various factors including the age, condition, suitability for continued leasing, as well as the geographic location of the containers when disposed.

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Critical Accounting Policies

     Container equipment – depreciable lives: Container rental equipment is depreciated over a useful life of 15 years to a residual value of 10%. The Registrant re-evaluates the period of amortization and residual values to determine whether subsequent events and circumstances warrant revised estimates of useful lives and residual values.

     Container equipment – valuation: The Registrant reviews container rental equipment when changes in circumstances require consideration as to whether the carrying value of the equipment has become impaired, pursuant to guidance established in SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”. The Registrant considers assets to be impaired if the carrying value of the asset exceeds the future projected cash flows from related operations (undiscounted and without interest charges). When impairment is deemed to exist, the assets are written down to fair value or projected discounted cash flows from related operations. The Registrant periodically evaluates future cash flows and potential impairment of its fleet by container type rather than for each individual container. Therefore, future losses could result for individual container dispositions due to various factors including age, condition, suitability for continued leasing, as well as geographic location of the containers where disposed. Considerable judgment is required in estimating future cash flows from container rental equipment operations. Accordingly, the estimates may not be indicative of the amounts that may be realized in future periods. As additional information becomes available in subsequent periods, reserves for the impairment of the container rental equipment carrying values may be necessary based upon changes in market and economic conditions.

New Accounting Pronouncements

     In June 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 146, (“SFAS 146”), “Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities,” which addresses accounting for restructuring and similar costs. The Registrant does not consider the provisions of SFAS 146 to have any effect on its financial position or results of operations.

Inflation

     The Registrant believes inflation has not had a material adverse effect on the results of its operations.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

     Exchange rate risk: Substantially all of the Registrant’s revenues are billed and paid in US dollars, and a significant portion of costs are billed and paid in US dollars. The Leasing Company believes that the proportion of US dollar revenues may decrease in future years, reflecting a more diversified customer base and lease portfolio. Of the remaining costs, the majority are individually small, unpredictable and incurred in various denominations and thus are not suitable for cost effective hedging.

     The Leasing Company may hedge a portion of the expenses that are predictable and are principally in UK pounds sterling. As exchange rates are outside of the control of the Registrant and Leasing Company, there can be no assurance that such fluctuations will not adversely affect its results of operations and financial condition.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

17

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

The Partners
Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P.

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P. (the “Partnership”) as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the related statements of operations, partners’ capital, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Partnership’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Partnership at December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

San Francisco, California
February 14, 2003

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CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Balance Sheets

December 31, 2002 and 2001

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

19

CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Statements of Operations

For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

20

CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Statements of Partners’ Capital

For the years ended December 31, 2001, 2000 and 1999

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

21

CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Statements of Cash Flows

For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Notes to Financial Statements

December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000

(1) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

	(a)		Nature of Operations
			Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P. (the “Partnership”) is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of California on August 26, 1993, for the purpose of owning and leasing marine cargo containers, special purpose containers and container related equipment worldwide to ocean carriers. To this extent, the Partnership’s operations are subject to the fluctuations of world economic and political conditions. Such factors may affect the pattern and levels of world trade. The Partnership believes that the profitability of, and risks associated with, leases to foreign customers is generally the same as those of leases to domestic customers. The Partnership’s leases generally require all payments to be made in United States currency.
			Cronos Capital Corp. (“CCC”) is the general partner and, with its affiliate Cronos Containers Limited (the “Leasing Company”), manages the business of the Partnership. CCC and the Leasing Company also manage the container leasing business for other partnerships affiliated with CCC. The Partnership shall continue until December 31, 2012, unless terminated sooner upon the occurrence of certain events.
			The Partnership commenced operations on February 22, 1994, when the minimum subscription proceeds of $2,000,000 were received from over 100 subscribers (excluding from such count Pennsylvania residents, the general partner, and all affiliates of the general partner). The Partnership offered 7,500,000 units of limited partnership interest at $20 per unit or $150,000,000. The offering terminated on December 15, 1995, at which time 7,151,569 limited partnership units had been sold.
	(b)		Leasing Company and Leasing Agent Agreement
			A Leasing Agent Agreement exist between the Partnership and the leasing Company, whereby the Leasing Company has the responsibility to manage the leasing operations of all equipment owned by the Partnership. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Leasing Company is responsible for leasing, managing and re-leasing the Partnership’s containers to ocean carriers and has full discretion over which ocean carriers and suppliers of goods and services it may deal with. The Leasing Agent Agreement permits the Leasing Company to use the containers owned by the Partnership, together with other containers owned or managed by the Leasing Company and its affiliates, as part of a single fleet operated without regard to ownership. Since the Leasing Agent Agreement meets the definition of an operating lease in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 13, it is accounted for as a lease under which the Partnership is lessor and the Leasing Company is lessee.
			The Leasing Agent Agreement generally provides that the Leasing Company will make payments to the Partnership based upon rentals collected from ocean carriers after deducting direct operating expenses and management fees to CCC and the Leasing Company. The Leasing Company leases containers to ocean carriers, generally under operating leases which are either master leases or term leases (mostly one to five years). Master leases do not specify the exact number of containers to be leased or the term that each container will remain on hire but allow the ocean carrier to pick up and drop off containers at various locations, and rentals are based upon the number of containers used and the applicable per-diem rate. Accordingly, rentals under master leases are all variable and contingent upon the number of containers used. Most containers are leased to ocean carriers under master leases; leasing agreements with fixed payment terms are not material to the financial statements. Since there are no material minimum lease rentals, no disclosure of minimum lease rentals is provided in these financial statements.

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CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Notes to Financial Statements

	(c)		Concentrations of Credit Risk
			The Partnership’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company. See note 3 for further discussion regarding the credit risk associated with cash and cash equivalents.
			Net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company (see notes 1(b) and 4 for discussion regarding net lease receivables) subject the Partnership to a significant concentration of credit risk. These net lease receivables, representing rentals earned by the Leasing Company, on behalf of the Partnership, from ocean carriers after deducting direct operating expenses and management fees to CCC and the Leasing Company, are remitted by the Leasing Company to the Partnership three to four times per month. The Partnership has historically never incurred a loss associated with the collectibility of unremitted net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company.
	(d)		Basis of Accounting
			The Partnership utilizes the accrual method of accounting. Net lease revenue is recorded by the Partnership in each period based upon its leasing agent agreement with the Leasing Company. Net lease revenue is generally dependent upon operating lease rentals from operating lease agreements between the Leasing Company and its various lessees, less direct operating expenses and management fees due in respect of the containers specified in each operating lease agreement.
	(e)		Use of Estimates
			The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), which requires the Partnership to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
			The most significant estimates included within the financial statements are the container rental equipment estimated useful lives and residual values, and the estimate of future cash flows from container rental equipment operations, used to determine the adequacy of the carrying value of container rental equipment in accordance with SFAS No. 144. Considerable judgment is required in estimating future cash flows from container rental equipment operations. Accordingly, the estimates may not be indicative of the amounts that may be realized in future periods. As additional information becomes available in subsequent periods, reserves for the impairment of the container rental equipment carrying values may be necessary based upon changes in market and economic conditions.

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CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Notes to Financial Statements

	(f)		Allocation of Net Income or Loss and Partnership Distributions
			Net income or loss has been allocated between general and limited partners in accordance with the Partnership Agreement.
			Actual cash distributions differ from the allocations of net income or loss between the general and limited partners as presented in these financial statements. Partnership distributions are paid to its partners (general and limited) from distributable cash from operations, allocated 95% to the limited partners and 5% to the general partner. Distributions of sales proceeds are allocated 99% to the limited partners and 1% to the general partner. The allocations remain in effect until such time as the limited partners have received from the Partnership aggregate distributions in an amount equal to their capital contributions plus an 8% cumulative, compounded (daily), annual return on their adjusted capital contributions. Thereafter, all Partnership distributions will be allocated 85% to the limited partners and 15% to the general partner. Cash distributions from operations to the general partner in excess of 5% of distributable cash will be considered an incentive fee and will be recorded as compensation to the general partner, with the remaining distributions from operations charged to partners’ capital.
	(g)		Acquisition Fees
			Pursuant to the Partnership Agreement, acquisition fees paid to CCC are based on 5% of the equipment purchase price. These fees are capitalized and included in the cost of the container rental equipment.
	(h)		Container Rental Equipment
			Container rental equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method. Depreciation policies are also evaluated to determine whether subsequent events and circumstances warrant revised estimates of useful lives. Effective June 1, 2001, the estimated depreciable life was changed from a twelve-year life to a fifteen-year life and the estimated salvage value was changed from 30% to 10% of the original equipment cost. The effect of these changes is an increase to depreciation expense of approximately $147,000 and $208,000 for 2002 and 2001, respectively.
			SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets,” was adopted by the Partnership effective January 1, 2002, without a significant impact on its financial statements. In accordance with SFAS No. 144, container rental equipment is considered to be impaired if the carrying value of the asset exceeds the expected future cash flows from related operations (undiscounted and without interest charges). If impairment is deemed to exist, the assets are written down to fair value. An analysis is prepared each quarter projecting future cash flows from container rental equipment operations. Current and projected utilization rates, per-diem rental rates, direct operating expenses, fleet size and container disposals are the primary variables utilized by the analysis. Additionally, the Partnership evaluates future cash flows and potential impairment by container type rather than for each individual container, and as a result, future losses could result for individual container dispositions due to various factors, including age, condition, suitability for continued leasing, as well as the geographical location of containers when disposed. There were no impairment charges to the carrying value of container rental equipment during 2002, 2001 and 2000.
	(i)		Income Taxes
			The Partnership is not subject to income taxes, consequently no provision for income taxes has been made. The Partnership files federal and state annual information tax returns, prepared on the accrual basis of accounting. Taxable income or loss is reportable by the partners individually.

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CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

Notes to Financial Statements

	(j)		Financial Statement Presentation
			The Partnership has determined that, for accounting purposes, the Leasing Agent Agreement is a lease, and the receivables, payables, gross revenues and operating expenses attributable to the containers managed by the Leasing Company are, for accounting purposes, those of the Leasing Company and not of the Partnership. Consequently, the Partnership’s balance sheets and statements of operations display the payments to be received by the Partnership from the Leasing Company as the Partnership’s receivables and revenues.
	(k)		New Accounting Pronouncements
			In June 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 146, (SFAS 146”), “Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities,” which addresses accounting for restructuring and similar costs. The Registrant does not consider the provisions of SFAS 146 to have any effect on its financial position or results of operations.

(2)		Operating Segment
		An operating segment is a component of an enterprise that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses, whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise’s chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and about which separate financial information is available. Management operates the Partnership’s container fleet as a homogenous unit and has determined that as such it has a single reportable operating segment.
		The Partnership derives revenues from dry cargo containers, refrigerated containers and tank containers. As of December 31, 2002, the Partnership owned 24,501 twenty-foot 8,465 forty-foot and 2,097 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as 460 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks. A summary of gross lease revenue earned by the Leasing Company, on behalf of the Partnership, by product, for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000 follows: