Insights - July/August 2017 - 21

Freight Report
Intermodal finished strong in the latter part of the second quarter, increasing 9.0 percent in May and 4.3 percent in June,
both on a year-over-year basis. In both May and June, the results were helped by solid increases in ISO containers, as well as
faster growth in Canada than in the U.S. The totals were 1.52 million shipments in June and 1.54 million shipments in May.
For the first six months, the year-over-year improvement was 3.3 percent, including 4.3 percent more international freight
and 2.2 percent higher domestic intermodal.
Intermodal's performance exceeded the trucking industry's, as measured by American Trucking Associations. That
group's tonnage index rose 1.3 percent in June, and just 1 percent for the first half of 2017, both on a year-over-year basis.
1.6
1.55
1.5
1.45

Millions

1.4
1.35
1.3
1.25
1.2
1.15
1.5

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

2015

Mergers - from page 19
or early next year in all likelihood," Jacobs told Bloomberg late in
June, citing several billion available acquisition dollars. "It will take
a while to build up the pipeline and get things going."
"It's extremely likely he will be active," said Albrecht. "By
announcing they are ready to make acquisitions, he is paving the
way so that Wall Street investors are not caught off guard while
letting the marketplace know we are no longer going to stay on
the sidelines. If they don't do an acquisition in calendar 2018 or
before, I'd be shocked."

Opportunities Ahead
Though most 2017 logistics acquisitions didn't occur
within the intermodal sector, there are opportunities encased
inside one large truckload acquisition - the potential for Knight
Transportation, which is combining with Swift Transportation to
turn around Swift's underperforming intermodal business. Knight
has lower operating costs in general and better performing
logistics businesses, including intermodal, Albrecht said.

Jul
2016

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2017

One area where intermodal has shined, Seidl said, is service
quality. "There are no issues at all on the intermodal side," he
said. "But this bears watching because as railroad carload traffic
increases, that could put service under pressure."
"From a pure numerical [dollars] standpoint, intermodal isn't
a big factor in logistics acquisitions," Wiggins said, because of
available low-cost financing and the potential for buyers' savings
through consolidations and cost reductions. Wiggins said
expansion of intermodal in the M & A sector depends on global
and North American economic trends.
He also cautioned that the success of a merger transaction
is closely tied to the buyers' ability to effectively integrate multiple
companies' businesses, which can either put service at risk or
enhance it depending on how effectively the companies are put
together.
Gordon also noted that M & A transactions' impact on
service largely depend on the buyer's ability and track record
in integrating businesses, citing XPO's ability to do effective
integrations, as well as some others' past failures.
July/August 2017 | Intermodal Insights

21



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - July/August 2017

IANA News
Suppliers, Carriers Intensify Chassis Utilization to Aid Productivity
2017 East Coast Cargo Growth Aided by Panama Canal Expansion as Intermodal Expands Through North America
Intermodal Terminal Safety: Progress Continues, Always More to Be Done
Intermodal Has Key Role in Transport Mergers, Acquisitions
Freight Report
Directive 92/106: The European Union’s Intermodal Legislation
Government News
Intermodal Information Services News
People News
New Members
Intermodal Calendar
Insights - July/August 2017 - Cover1
Insights - July/August 2017 - 2
Insights - July/August 2017 - 3
Insights - July/August 2017 - IANA News
Insights - July/August 2017 - 5
Insights - July/August 2017 - 6
Insights - July/August 2017 - Suppliers, Carriers Intensify Chassis Utilization to Aid Productivity
Insights - July/August 2017 - 8
Insights - July/August 2017 - 9
Insights - July/August 2017 - 10
Insights - July/August 2017 - 2017 East Coast Cargo Growth Aided by Panama Canal Expansion as Intermodal Expands Through North America
Insights - July/August 2017 - 12
Insights - July/August 2017 - 13
Insights - July/August 2017 - 14
Insights - July/August 2017 - Intermodal Terminal Safety: Progress Continues, Always More to Be Done
Insights - July/August 2017 - 16
Insights - July/August 2017 - 17
Insights - July/August 2017 - 18
Insights - July/August 2017 - Intermodal Has Key Role in Transport Mergers, Acquisitions
Insights - July/August 2017 - 20
Insights - July/August 2017 - Freight Report
Insights - July/August 2017 - Directive 92/106: The European Union’s Intermodal Legislation
Insights - July/August 2017 - 23
Insights - July/August 2017 - Government News
Insights - July/August 2017 - Intermodal Information Services News
Insights - July/August 2017 - 26
Insights - July/August 2017 - People News
Insights - July/August 2017 - New Members
Insights - July/August 2017 - 29
Insights - July/August 2017 - 30
Insights - July/August 2017 - 31
Insights - July/August 2017 - 32
Insights - July/August 2017 - 33
Insights - July/August 2017 - 34
Insights - July/August 2017 - Intermodal Calendar
Insights - July/August 2017 - 36
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