Intermodal Traffic Sees Record Quarterly Drops

Intermodal international container volume fell 22.7% in the first quarter, the eighth straight quarterly decline, the Intermodal Association of North America reported.

International container traffic fell to 1.49 million units, down from 1.99 million a year earlier, IANA said Tuesday. Domestic trailer traffic fell 20.6%, to 407,206 units.

Domestic container traffic inched up 0.1% to 893,506 units, while total domestic equipment fell 7.4% to 1.3 million, the group said.

Huge declines in intermodal performance were widespread across the world, IANA said. In regions that saw volume increases, the gains were only minimal.

In total, intermodal volume saw a drop of 16.3%, the largest quarterly drop on record, IANA said.