This story appears in the July 16 print edition of Transport Topics.   Intermodal shipments that surged late in the second quarter have pushed 2012 truck/rail freight volume ahead of the record pace set in 2006, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Lineage Logistics said it has acquired Castle & Cooke Cold Storage, Colton, Calif., for an undisclosed sum.

The produce shipping season is in full swing this year and affected by unpredictable weather patterns that have created shipping peaks in parts of the South and Pacific Northwest and weaker-than-usual demand in California, experts said.

Wheaton Van Lines, which acquired Bekins Van Lines earlier this year, has spun off Bekins’ former trade show business to newly formed BTS Logistics, the company announced.

New trailer orders fell 19.7% to 14,199 in May from a year earlier, ACT Research reported, but trailer manufacturers said backlogs remain strong and suggested that fleets soon will need to upgrade equipment.

Consumer confidence dropped in June to the lowest level this year, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.