Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 1st Quarter 2016 - (Page 1)

Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics Quarterly Analysis of Industry Activities Intermodal Volumes Rise a Modest 2.0% in Q1 Total Intermodal Growth Pulled Down by Trailers First Quarter 2016 Rail Volume Results In this issue of the Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report, IANA introduces intermodal data from the Kansas City Southern and Ferromex railroads. The addition of this data allows IANA to present a reliable picture of intermodal shipments in Mexico for the first time. Total intermodal growth in Q1 was deflated by the poor performance of trailers. In total, containers advanced by 5.0% in Q1, a reasonably strong growth rate. However, trailers plummeted by 24.4% in Q1, reducing total intermodal growth to just 2.0%. Although the 2.0% growth rate recorded over Q1 represents an improvement over the small 0.3% gain observed in Q4 of 2015, it lags the 2.8% recorded over the whole of 2015. Much of the decline in trailers is attributable to the restructuring of Norfolk Southern's Triple Crown operations. In late 2015, NS announced that it would restructure its subsidiary. Previously, Triple Crown had operated a special type of railroad equipment called RoadRailer that consisted of a highway trailer that was specially fitted for intermodal use. The restructuring of Triple Crown ended RoadRailer service in all lanes outside of the Detroit - Kansas City lane. RoadRailer volumes are counted as trailers in IANA's data, so any change in RoadRailer traffic detracts from the trailer growth rate. Origin regions that had a heavy RoadRailer presence generally showed much larger trailer declines in Q1 than those that had less exposure to this service. Still, not all of the decline in trailers is attributable to Triple Crown. Trailer volumes declined in every region except Western Canada, suggesting that even excluding the changes at RoadRailer, trailers would have dropped, just not by as much. First Quarter 2016  © IANA 2016 First Quarter Totals 2015 2016 Change 409,213 309,317 -24.4% Domestic Containers 1,661,497 1,767,006 6.4% All Domestic Equipment 2,070,710 2,076,323 0.3% ISO Containers 2,004,627 2,080,676 3.8% Total 4,075,337 4,156,999 2.0% Trailers First Quarter Equipment Loading Trends 28' Trailers/Containers 67,303 55,514 1Q 15-16 Growth -17.5% 40/45' Trailers 32,013 23,602 -26.3% 0.6% 48/53' Trailers 310,382 230,425 -25.8% 5.5% 20/40/45' Containers 2,004,627 2,080,676 3.8% 50.1% 48/53' Containers 1,661,012 1,766,782 6.4% 42.5% Total 4,075,337 4,156,999 2.0% 100.0% Equipment Size/Type 1Q15 There are many other factors that could be contributing to the decline in trailers. Fuel prices remain low and so intermodal trailer shipping may be facing competition from trucking. Similarly, changing logistic trends, spurred on by rising online sales may be pushing more freight towards trucks and away from intermodal trailers. There also has been a long term trend to move freight away from trailers. In Q1 of 2016, there were less than half as many trailer shipments than at the start of the century. In contrast, there were over twice as many container shipments in Q1 2016 than in Q1 2000. In contrast to trailers, containers did better, particularly domestic containers, which gained 6.4% over the quarter. However, international containers failed to live up to expectations. International intermodal 1Q16 1Q 16 Share 1.3% gained 3.8% in Q1 compared to a decline in Q4 2015. However, it is somewhat disappointing given that U.S. container imports grew 5.8% in the same time period. Much of the weakness in international containers came from outside the U.S. In Q1, international volumes declined in both Western Canada and Mexico. Excluding those two regions, international intermodal rose a much more impressive 6.0%. Domestic container growth was highly inconsistent across regions. The Southwest, Northwest, Mexico and Eastern Canada regions all saw domestic container growth of greater than 10.0%. Domestic container growth in the Midwest largely mirrored the industry average at 6.2%, however all other regions recorded domestic container growth of 4.0% or less. In the Mountain 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 1st Quarter 2016

1Q 2016 Rail Volume
Key Corridor Results
Seasonally Adjusted Intermodal Volume
Regional Traffic
1Q 2016 IMC Results
Intermodal Long-Term Trends
Intermodal Outlook
Trucking Industry Outlook
U.S., Canadian and Mexican Domestic Economies
Monthly Traffic by Type
Monthly Traffic by Ownership
Eastern Canada
Mountain Central
Midwest
Mexico
Northeast
Northwest
South Central
Southeast
Southwest
Western Canada
Major Intermodal Corridors
Notes to Report

Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 1st Quarter 2016