International and Domestic Volumes Reflect Continued Growth

CALVERTON, MD - Intermodal freight volumes posted a fourth quarter growth rate of 5.8 percent year-over-year, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s fourth quarter and year-end Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report. International volume increased by 7.7 percent; domestic containers grew by a modest 2.5 percent; while trailer loads increased by 12.2 percent.

“Intermodal delivered in 2017, thanks in large part to growth on the international side,” said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA. “The imbalance between imports and international volumes during 2016 has reversed, resulting in a strong 4.7 percent volume gain for the year.”

In this fourth quarter, the seven highest-density trade corridors accounted for 62.0 percent of total volume and were up collectively 3.7 percent. The Eastern-Western Canada corridor expanded by 12.7 percent, exceeding all other lanes by a wide margin. Two other lanes, the Northeast-Midwest and the South Central-Southwest, reached 5.0 percent growth. The Midwest-Southwest, intra-Southeast and Southeast-Southwest lanes recorded growth of 2.4 percent, 2.2 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively. The Midwest-Northwest corridor volume shrank 5.2%, the only lane reflecting a decrease in volume.

Traffic for Intermodal Marketing Companies increased 16.8 percent year-over-year in Q4, with almost all of that gain taking place in the highway segment. This is the second consecutive quarter when both intermodal and highway loadings increased. For the full year, IMC volumes were up 5.4 percent, with highway moves growing at about twice the pace of intermodal loadings.