February 13, 2026

Intermodal Downshifts in Fourth Quarter

Domestic and International Containers End Year Ahead

CALVERTON, MD (February 13, 2026) – Total intermodal volume fell 2.0 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. While domestic container originations grew 2.2 percent, international containers declined 4.7 percent, and trailers dropped 23.1 percent. For the year, total volume rose 2.3 percent.

“While aggregate intermodal volume weakened 2.0 percent year-over-year for Q4 2025, the domestic market actually decoupled from this trend, showing 2.2 percent growth,” said Andrew Sibold, IANA’s Director of Economics. “This stands in sharp contrast to the 4.7 percent drop in international containers.”

Only three of the seven highest-density trade corridors, which collectively handled more than 60 percent of total volume, were up in the fourth quarter. The Trans-Canada jumped 10.8 percent; the Northeast-Midwest increased 3.0 percent; and the intra-Southeast edged 0.8 percent higher. The South Central-Southwest lost 4.3 percent, and the Midwest-Southwest contracted 9.9 percent. The Southeast-Southwest and the Midwest-Northwest delivered 12.9 percent and 19.7 percent less volume, respectively.

Total IMC volume was down 6.8 percent year-over-year in Q4, with intermodal loads off 2.8 percent and highway traffic 12.8 percent to the negative.