Demand for logistics services is on the rise after falling sharply in 2009, as shippers look for ways to meet shifting market demand and deal with looming constraints in freight-hauling capacity.

Intermodal shipments in the third quarter of 2010 erased recession-related volume losses, climbing 20% from a year ago as container shipments of imported goods surged, the Intermodal Association of North America reported.

A lawsuit in Phoenix involving truckload carrier Swift Transportation Co. and mileage calculations reignites the topic of how carriers, shippers and drivers compute distance driven and then bill for it.

Third-party logistics provider Ceva Logistics reported an increase in third-quarter earnings to 86 million euros ($117 million), a 26% increase over last year.

Trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. late Tuesday reported a third-quarter loss of $1.9 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a loss of $66.4 million, or $2.23, a year ago.

Logistics firm Expeditors International of Washington’s third-quarter profit jumped to $96.1 million, or 44 cents a share, from $57.8 million, or 27 cents, a year ago, a per-share gain of 63%.

New building techniques and innovative materials are helping to make trailers, especially dry vans and reefers, lighter, more fuel efficient and better at fighting corrosion, manufacturers said.

A federal judge last week temporarily blocked a ban on owner-operators at the Port of Los Angeles, granting an injunction sought by American Trucking Associations.