For release may 12, 2008
Contact: matt mlynarczyk
voice (703) 623-2929

International Import Movements Continue To Struggle

CALVERTON, MD, May 12—Continued growth in domestic container shipments helped boost first-quarter results in overall intermodal activity, but domestic gains were not sufficient to offset a fourth consecutive quarter of declines in international volume, according to a report released today by the Intermodal Association of North America.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, domestic container volume rose by 5 percent, to 892,417 loads as compared to the first quarter of 2007, according to the comprehensive Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report published by IANA. It was the 10th straight quarter in which year-over-year domestic gains were recorded.

However, a 5.2 percent decrease in international container shipments in the first three months of 2008, was the largest quarterly decline in international activity in nine years. It was the first quarter in two years that international intermodal volume fell short of 2 million loads. The international downturn caused overall intermodal activity for the first quarter to drop 2.4 percent, to 3,327,745 loads from a year earlier.

“Once the current bout of economic weakness passes, imports should again set a healthy pace, renewing their contribution to broader intermodal advances,” said Tom Malloy, IANA’s vice president of member services and business development. “Gains in domestic freight are encouraging,” Malloy added. “If the industry can hold those gains as imports rebound, the table will be set for even more growth in the future.”

The first-quarter results suggest that intermodal marketing companies, or IMCs, were able to prosper in a difficult market, as total IMC revenue for reporting companies rose 9.8 percent, to more than $982 million in the first three months of 2008 compared with nearly $894.8 million in the year-earlier period.

First Quarter 2007/2008 Intermodal Volume Comparisons

Equipment Types Q1 2007 Q1 2008 Change
Trailers 531,122 512,595 -3.5%
Domestic Containers 850,147 892,417 +5.0%
All Domestic Equipment 1,381,269 1,405,012 +2.7%
ISO Containers 2,027,247 1,922,733 -5.2%
Total 3,408,516 3,327,745 -2.4%

Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics is published quarterly by IANA and is available on a subscription and individual copy basis. For subscription information, or if you are an accredited journalist seeking a sample copy of the Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics, please contact Matt Mlynarczyk either by email at matt. mlynarczyk@intermodal.org or phone at (703) 623-2929.

IANA is North America's leading industry trade association representing the combined interests of the intermodal freight industry. IANA's membership includes railroads, water carriers and stacktrain operators; port authorities; intermodal truckers and over-the-road highway carriers; intermodal marketing and logistics companies; and suppliers to the industry such as equipment manufacturers, intermodal leasing companies and consulting firms. IANA's associate members include shippers, academic institutions, government entities and non-profit associations.

Intermodal Association of North America, Suite 1100, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD 20705 http://www.intermodal.org/