April intermodal rates down 1.9%

Rates were down again in April 2015 after falling 1.6% in March 2015, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index.    Intermodal rates fell 1.9 percent in April 2015 compared to April 2014, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index.
   The transportation intelligence analyst said year-over-year rates were down for the second consecutive month, after falling 1.6 percent in March.
   “We expect intermodal rates to continue to decline as drops in diesel and oil prices continue to encourage mode shifting to truckload,” Cass Information Systems Inc. said in a statement.
   Investment firm Avondale Partners added, “We concede that the extent to which loads can be shifted from domestic intermodal back to over-the-road truck is dependent on trucking capacity, but the ~$0.20 a mile decline in fuel surcharges collected by truckers in the last year (with most of that decline coming in the most recent 4-5 months) has to challenge demand and pricing power for domestic intermodal, especially in shorter lengths of haul.”