Intermodal traffic volume rose 9% in the first quarter, the fifth straight year-over-year increase, the Intermodal Association of North America said Friday.

Horizon Lines Inc., the ocean carrier that provides service between the U.S. mainland and Alaska as well as other locations, said it lost $33.3 million in the fiscal first quarter ended March 27, a loss that was nearly three times greater than the comparable 2010 period.

Both orders and factory production of new commercial trailers more than doubled in March, compared with the same month of 2010 and leading to escalating prices and longer wait times, industry officials have said.

Trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. reported a first-quarter profit on improved sales, turning around a loss from a year ago.

North American Trailer said it has acquired Fontana, Calif.-based Quality Fleet Repair, effective Sunday. Terms were not disclosed.

Universal Truckload Services’ first-quarter income rose from a year ago as load volumes improved.

Consumer confidence rose in April from a 16-month low, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

Norfolk Southern Corp.’s first-quarter profit rose from the same quarter last year on higher freight levels, the Eastern freight railroad said late Wednesday.