Saying intermodal volume growth for the first quarter was decent would be an understatement. The reason for that, based on data released today in the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) “Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics Report,” is that the first
quarter was the best quarter for intermodal in nearly four years, going back to the second quarter of 2014.Total first quarter intermodal volume movements-at 4,547,247-were up 7.2% annually, which was ahead of the fourth quarter’s 5.8% annual spread and the third quarter’s 6.3% difference.
International, or ISO, containers led all intermodal categories for the quarter, rising 7% to 2,292,274. Domestic containers turned in a strong performance, rising 6.2% to 1,899,448, and trailers were up an impressive 14.5% to 355,525.
IANA President and CEO Joni Casey told LM that there were several reasons for the strong Q1 performance, including: overall strong economy; continued import growth; higher fuel prices; tight OTR capacity; and weak comparisons to lower 2017 volumes in some markets.
