Intermodal Traffic Takes Big Quarterly Drop

Intermodal trailer traffic fell 26.9% in the second quarter of 2009, the Intermodal Association of North America reported.

Trailer traffic fell to 386,586 trailers during the quarter, down from 528,836 last year. Trailer volume has declined 16 of the last 18 quarters, IANA said.

International container traffic dropped 26% to 1,991,078 containers, while total domestic equipment traffic fell 9% to 1,489,786 units. International volume dropped in every region at a double-digit pace, IANA said.

Domestic container traffic saw the only increase of the quarter, gaining 0.9% to 960,950 containers, IANA said. The increase was mainly due to a 5% increase in 53-foot equipment, which now accounts for 95% of all domestic container loads.