Quarterly growth in the movement of domestic containers once again provided the only positive news for intermodal volumes, rising 0.9 percent. The economic climate continued to hamper intermodal results overall, however, with total volumes dropping 18.7 percent year-over-year, according to Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics, a quarterly report from the Intermodal Association of North America.
In the domestic arena, 53-foot equipment had the biggest gains, with a 5 percent jump. This segment now represents 95 percent of all domestic container loads. Geographically, most regions of the country experienced growth, with the Mountain Central region posting the largest percentage jump - a 17 percent gain. The Midwest region - the largest domestic container region - saw a solid 4 percent increase.
