Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 4th Quarter 2013 - (Page 1)

2013 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Report Intermodal Focus 2013's Top Stories Intermodal's 2013 results extended the industry's recent performance as a major source of railroad growth and a strong alternative to over-the-road freight. Boosted by a late year surge, overall growth improved to 4.6% in 2013 from 4.0% in 2012. Domestic container gain were again the main driver, with international moving steadily ahead and trailers turning the corner in late 2013. Intermodal is likely to extend its vital role in the North American supply chain in the coming year. IANA's Market Trends and Statistics also will extend its role as the key to understanding the intermodal market, where it has been, and where it will go in the coming years. Following are the top 10 stories of 2013 as told by IANA's data In a theme that may be repetitive, but is certainly not boring, domestic containers were the industry's top performing segment for the fourth straight year. The pace was a touch slower at 9.4% compared to 2012's 12.2% jump. Over one-half million loads were added, and totals topped six million for the first time. DC volume has doubled over the past ten years. Private containers maintain their dominant share of the big box market at 69%, consistent with their performance over the past eight years. In 2000, just over half of all big box loadings were in private containers. Once again, all nine regions posted domestic container gains for the year, led by a 15% jump in Southeastern originations. The Midwest was again the largest region, accounting for close to one-third of all domestic container loadings. Southwestern originations, driven mainly by transloading of imported freight, were close to 20% of the total. After plunging for much of the past two years, trailer loadings turned the corner in the second half of 2013, growing for each of the last six months and peaking at a 9.6% year-over-year gain in December. While annual trailer volume was about even with 2012, it remained at about 60% of its 2005 peak. 53' trailers again were the dominant trailer size, accounting for 69% of total trailer loadings and growing in nine of the past twelve months; all other sizes dropped except in October and December. Total domestic volume, including both trailers and big-box containers, continued to gain ground compared to international. Accounting for 49.7% of 2013 volume, domestic may well surpass international intermodal for the first time in 2014. At the height of the import boom in 2006, international accounted for 60% of all intermodal volume. International growth extended its slow-but-steady march back to pre-recession levels. Growth improved from 1.8% in 2012 to 2.3% in 2013. This followed a 2.8% gain in 2011, as international loadings were fairly consistent with economic growth since the strong 2010 rebound from the recession's depths. 2013 international loadings were at 92% of their 2006 pre-recession peak. Seven of nine regions enjoyed international loadings increases, led by an 8.2% gain in the Southeast. The historically volatile Northwest region plunged 11.5%. While overall international has delivered steady growth over the past three years, the Northwest fell 9.1% in 2011 and rose 10.9% in 2012 before falling off again in 2013. The South Central was the other region that declined in 2013. The west coast (including the Southwest, Northwest and Western Canada regions) again led the international market, accounting for 61% of all loadings originated in coastal regions, a share that has been fairly steady in recent years. Seasonal patterns were closer to historic results. October was again the year's busiest month, with over 1.4 million total loadings. This topped August volumes by 3.2%; October and August totals were very close in 2012, while in 2010 and 2011 August was the peak month. October was the high point in 10 of the 14 years since the turn of the century. October, rather than August, was also the peak international month for the first time since 2009.

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Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 4th Quarter 2013