Intermodal volumes see cumulative decline in February, reports IANA

February intermodal volumes continued an ongoing run of declines, which were accentuated by the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, according to data provided to LM by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).

Total shipments for the month—at 1,330,803—were off 5.4% annually. Domestic containers—at 608,833—were up 5.8% decline, while trailers—at 83,155—slumped 22.6%.  All domestic equipment—at 691,988—was off 13%. ISO, or international, containers—at 638,815—saw an 11.8% decline.

On a year-to-date basis through February, IANA reported the following:

• domestic containers rose 4.0% to 1,230,165;
• trailers were down 21.7% to 175,292;
• all domestic equipment was off 0.1% to 1,405,457; and
• ISO containers declined 7.6% to 1,432,139

IANA President and CEO Joni Casey told LM that domestic containers, the one segment tracked by IANA that saw an increase in February, would have seen even further gains if imports had not been suppressed, adding that the increases in domestic containers is probably a shift from trailer to containers.

Looking at cumulative intermodal volumes, Casey said it is difficult to say what the final volume numbers will look like for March.

“[Some] influences include the fact that February volumes were impacted by the timing of the Chinese New Year, as the holiday took place two weeks earlier than last year, and an extended manufacturing shutdown due to COVID-19 concerns and the continued blank sailings being announced,” she explained. “We are anticipating intermodal volume trends in March that are comparable to January and February.”

When presented with a hypothetical question of if things were to return to “normal,” or something resembling it by mid-summer, would there be a subsequent resurgence for intermodal volumes, Casey was optimistic that could be the case but with some caveats.

“A number of intermodal transportation providers are expecting and planning for a traffic volume surge by the end of Q2/beginning of Q3,” she said. “Chinese manufacturing is coming back on line, inventories will need to be restocked, and seasonal products will need to move. These predictions are subject though, to the duration of COVID-19 as well as the related impact on the US economy.”