Intermodal rates fall for 18th consecutive month in June

Pricing dropped another 1.5 percent for the month compared with June 2015, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index, and analysts with Avondale Partners expect this trend to continue through the rest of the year.    Intermodal rates fell another 1.5 percent in June 2016 compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index, which measures all-in per-mile costs.
   Cass Information Systems Inc., a logistics payment solutions provider and transportation intelligence analyst, said year-over-year rates were down for the 18th consecutive month. Intermodal rates fell 2 percent from the previous year in May, 3.4 percent in April, and 3 percent in March.
   The continued negative growth in rates is a record for the index, which was created in 2005. The previous record decline was set in the 13 months from Dec. 2008 through Dec. 2009.
   Investment firm Avondale Partners reiterated its expectations for further declines in intermodal rates for the remainder of 2016 due to the historically high correlation between truckload and intermodal rates.
   As contract rates for trucking continue to lose strength and move further into negative territory, “[this] would imply even more potential weakness for intermodal pricing,” the firm said.