Containers

Total January volume, at 1,390,450 units, rose 5.5% annually, trailing December’s 6.4% annual gain and topping November’s 3.8% annual gain. This three-month stretch of annual monthly gains was preceded by a series of slimming sequential, annual declines, with October down 0.4% and 4.0%, 7.5% and 9.8% annual declines, in September, August and July, respectively.

J.B. Hunt Transport signed a multiyear deal with global retail giant Walmart, with a key component of the deal being its acquisition of Walmart’s intermodal assets, including its operational intermodal container and chassis fleets.  

Rail carloads, at 220,362, were down 2.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 264,478 units, increased 11.1%.

POLA volume came in at 855,652 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), for an 18% annual increase, and POLB reported that January volume, at 674,015 TEU, increased 17.5% annually.

U.S. rail carloads, at 1,025,168, were down 7.2%, or 79,725 carloads, compared to January 2023. And intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,206,014, headed up 5.5%, or 63,195 units, annually.

Rail carloads, at 208,131, fell 9.0% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 259,801 units, posted a 10.1% annual gain.

IANA reported that total fourth quarter intermodal volume, at 4,367,940 units, rose 3.1% annually, marking the first time there has been annual growth in the past nine quarters. Full-year 2023 intermodal volume, at 16,669,980 units, was off 5.9% annually.

Rail carloads, at 173,371, were down 22.4% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 224,182 units, saw a 4.5% annual decline.

Total December volume, at 1,410,345 units, was up 6.4% annually, posting annual growth for the second consecutive month, following November’s 3.8% annual increase. For all of 2023, total intermodal volume came in at 16,669,980 units, for a 5.9% annual decrease.

Rail carloads, at 213,277, were off 10.2% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 244,176, saw a 1.9% annual gain.

While shifting Asian cargo from East Coast to West Coast U.S. ports adds time and cost, it is one option shippers have to counter continued risk in the Red Sea.

Rail carloads, at 208,176, were up 0.9% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 209,081, saw a 3.7% annual increase.

December rail carloads, at 876,881, increased 7.3%, or 59,084 carloads, annually, and intermodal container and trailer volume, at 982,383 units, were up 10.2%, or 90,881 units, annually.

Rail carloads, at 234,449, increased 6.5% annually, and intermodal container and trailer volumes, at 268,134 units, rose 8.6% annually.

Total November volume, at 1,442,394 units, were up 3.8% annually, snapping a stretch of slimming sequential, annual declines, with October down 0.4% and 4.0%, 7.5% and 9.8% annual declines, in September, August and July, respectively.