IANA reports annual intermodal declines in February

Intermodal volumes remained on the same growth path in February as they did in January, according to data recently provided to LM by the Intermodal Association of North America.

Total February volume, at 1,406,639 units, fell 3.5% compared to February 2018. Domestic containers, at 575,431, saw the largest annual decline, down 5%, and trailers, at 107,501, fell 2.3%. All domestic equipment, at 682,932, was down 4.6%. International, or ISO, containers, decreased 2.4% to 723,707. 

February volumes were largely in line with January’s IANA volumes, with the exception of ISO containers, which were the lone grouping to see an annual gain to start 2019, with a 6.5% annual increase. That increase may have been due, in part, to the timing of the Lunar New Year, when many factories in Asia are shut down for a roughly two weeks.

Intermodal President and CEO Joni Casey told LM that tough annual comparisons were apparent in these numbers, as “lower level of imports, due to previous ‘pull forward’ [due to tariffs on U.S.-bound shipments from China] and the Lunar New Year, which also impacted domestic container volumes.”

Through the first two months of 2019, IANA data noted that total intermodal units, at 2,956,738, are down 0.4%. Domestic containers, at 1,183,265, are off 3.3%, and all domestic equipment, at 1,407,002, decreased 3%. ISO containers, at 1,549,736, are up 2.2%.

IANA has previously stated that, in regards to solid ISO volumes, that rising container import volume has served as the main reason for segment growth, adding that barring any sort of change to trade policy, that growth should remain intact in the short-term, paced by solid mostly economic fundamentals, in light of recent signals indicating a global trade slowdown could be coming.

But should large tariffs be applied to Chinese imports, IANA said it could have a “significant impact on ISO container volume,” which would be a cause for concern, as 47% of U.S. container volume originates in China.