As the U.S. economy showed hints of recovery during the third-quarter, so did intermodal results, reports Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) on the eve of its annual conference, held this year in Anaheim, Calif. According to IANA, year-over-year volume comparisons improved during the quarter, with total volume off 16.4%—a significant improvement over Q2’s downturn of 18.7%. Domestic container volume increased in every U.S. region during Q3, growing 1.3% overall. Domestic advances during the quarter were entirely in 53-foot equipment, which jumped 5.5%.
Despite the severity of the recession, it is important to note that domestic container growth has not retreated into negative territory once on a quarterly basis. Although growth did slow in 2009, gains in domestic equipment volume have increased each quarter of the year. These increases began with a Q1 advance of 0.1%, followed by a 0.9% surge in Q2, and finally this quarter’s 1.3% up-tick.
International volumes fell for a ninth-consecutive quarter, with over 20% decreases realized during each quarter of 2009. Encouragingly, the rate of decline decelerated in every month of the quarter, with September’s result only 20%.
Intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) continued to mirror the industry’s challenges in Q3. IMC intermodal volume results were in line with the broader industry on a year-over-year basis, falling 8.6% compared to a 7.7% overall decline in domestic intermodal. IMCs had topped overall results slightly in Q2. At the same time, IMC highway loadings drew almost even with year-ago results after two years of steady and sometimes brutal decline, IANA reports.
Third Quarter 2009 Intermodal Volume Comparisons
| Equipment Type | 2008 | 2009 | Change |
| Trailers | 527,840 | 395,308 | -25.1 % |
| Domestic Containers | 1,015,326 | 1,028,989 | +1.3 % |
| All Domestic Equipment | 1,543,166 | 1,424,297 | -7.7 % |
| ISO Containers | 2,040,991 | 1,570,746 | -23.0 % |
| Total | 3,584,157 | 2,995,043 | -16.4 % |
Source: IANA
