Third quarter intermodal volumes drop after year of growth

Total intermodal volumes fell 2.9 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2021, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s Intermodal Quarterly report. International containers gained a slight 0.9 percent from 2020; domestic shipments, on the other hand, lost 5.7 percent; and trailers, 11.2 percent. 

“Despite the various headlines on supply chain disruptions, the third quarter volume loss was small relative to the size of this year’s earlier gains and in comparison to the previous 15 months of continuous gains,” said Joni Casey, president and CEO of IANA.

The seven highest-density trade corridors, which collectively handled more than 60 percent of total volume, showed mixed results in the third quarter. The Southeast-Southwest was up 9.2 percent, followed by the Midwest-Northwest at 6.8 percent and the Trans-Canada at 6.7 percent. The South Central-Southwest tumbled 8.7 percent; the Intra-Southeast posted a 4.6 percent loss; and the Midwest-Southwest dropped 3.1 percent. The Northeast-Midwest came in at 1.7 percent to the negative.

Total IMC volume rose 10.6 percent year-over-year in Q3, with intermodal down 4.7 percent and highway loads up 20.8 percent.