Intermodal Volumes Tumble in Q4

A new report released on Jan. 31, from the Intermodal Associaton of North America reported that total intermodal volumes fell 9.8% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2021.

All market segments showed declines:

• international containers at 16.2%;
• trailers, 10.9 percent; and
• domestic shipments, 2.4 percent.

“Although Q4 volumes were down, intermodal loads grew during 2021, albeit at a much slower rate than the previous year,” said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IAN, in a staement. “Performance continues to be affected by the virus, as well as network congestion and the intermittent scarcity of equipment and labor.”

The seven highest-density trade corridors, which collectively handled more than 60% of total volume, were all down in the fourth quarter.

Looking at the specific corridors the report found:

• The Trans-Canada corridor was down 21.%
• The South Central-Southwest corridor was down 14.7%
• The  Midwest-Southwest corridor was down 13.,3%
• The Intra-Southeast corridor was down 11.1%
• The Southeast-Southwest corridor was down 9.9%
• The Northeast-Midwest corridor was down 3.8%
• The Midwest-Northwest corridor was down 1.4%.

Total IMC volume rose 8.1% year-over-year in Q4, with intermodal down 7.3% and highway loads up 18.1%.

However, intermodal traffic rose, in total, 3.6% for the year.