IANA: Intermodal volumes on the rise in Q1

North American intermodal freight volumes in the first quarter of 2017 ticked up 2 percent to 4.2 million units compared with the same 2016 period, according to the Intermodal Association of North America.    North American intermodal freight volumes in the first quarter of 2017 ticked up 2 percent to 4.2 million units compared with the same 2016 period, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) quarterly Intermodal Market Trends and Statistics report.
   International container volumes rose 2.9 percent to 2.1 million units, for the quarter, while domestic containers ticked up1.3 percent to 1.8 million units and intermodal trailers increased 0.3 percent to 310,393 units from first quarter 2016.
   IANA said the seven highest-density trade corridors, which include Eastern and Western Canada (up 7.4 percent), South Central-Southwest (down 1.3 percent) and Midwest-Southwest (up 1.7 percent), collectively were up 2.1 percent during the first quarter. The seven corridors account for 63.4 percent of total North American intermodal volumes, according to IANA.
   International volume growth was highest in the east-to-west lanes, which primarily consist of grain shipments. Midwest-Southwest transport lead the international growth, increasing 19 percent year-over-year for the quarter, according to IANA. The Northeast-Midwest and eastbound Western Canada-Eastern Canada trade lanes followed with volume increases of 13 percent each.
    IANA reported a 7.5 percent bump in total quarterly loads among participating Intermodal Marketing Companies (IMCs). Intermodal loads also gained 3.6 percent after a double-digit drop for the full 2016 year, according to IANA. 
   Adriene Bailey, Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc. chief strategy officer and newly elected IANA chairperson, told American Shipper in February that the intermodal industry was facing a marginal “freight depression,” with intermodal volumes falling in 2016 from a year prior.
   “While fourth quarter numbers showed improvement, the first part of 2017 will give us a better sense of how the growth curve will progress,” Bailey said.
   However, “All intermodal market segments showed improvement in the first quarter,” Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA, said in the latest report. “What’s notable about this is that it comes on the heels of 2.0 percent growth in the same quarter of last year, suggesting real gains, not just a weak comparison.”