After four consecutive years of record-breaking intermodal growth in the railroad industry, container and trailer traffic dropped 1.6% in 2016, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.

Construction has begun on an intermodal terminal at the Global Container Terminals in Bayonne, New Jersey, to connect on-site to CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads and to offer an alternative that could result in fewer containers being placed on trucks.

Railroads lost cargo to trucks in the third quarter, adding to a yearlong slide in profits as demand tumbled for coal, oil and metals.

HOUSTON — Intermodal businesses that have become accustomed to long-term growth likely are facing tougher times ahead in the form of a recession, changing freight patterns and other obstacles.

HOUSTON — Intermodal businesses that have become accustomed to steady long-term growth are facing the prospect of tougher times ahead in the form of a likely recession and changing freight patterns, three industry experts said Sept. 19.

Just as highway bottlenecks can impede the transport of goods over the road, congestion in and around the nation’s seaports can disrupt the supply chains of companies that import and export goods.

Intermodal freight shipments fell 6.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, ending a string of 25 consecutive quarterly increases, hurt by fewer international and trailer shipments, the Intermodal Association of North America reported.

Intermodal freight shipments fell 6.1% in the second quarter, ending 25 consecutive year-over-year increases, hurt by fewer international and trailer shipments, the Intermodal Association of North America reported.

CSX is launching a new intermodal rail service between the Port of Wilmington and the railroad’s terminal in Charlotte, North Carolina, boosting the city’s status as a transportation hub, company and state officials said July 19.