Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 4th Quarter 2016 - 4

Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics
Traffic improved by 2.3% in the
Eastern-Western Canada corridor.
Volume was consistent in both
directions, posting 2.5% growth
from Western to Eastern Canada,
and 2.2% in the opposite direction.
Trailer traffic is negligible in this
lane.
The Midwest-Southwest region
grew at a 1.4% rate in Q4. Containers were up by 1.9% for the region,
but trailer declines of 3.5% lowered
the total gain. Most of the improvement came from containers in
the Midwest-Southwest direction,
which advanced 2.8%.
The South Central-Southwest lane
was the only major lane to post a
year-over-year decline in traffic.
Shipments weakened in both directions, causing traffic to shrink by
4.4%. There was a 6.8% decline in
the South Central-Southwest direction, mostly due to a 7.2% drop in
container shipments. Containers fell
by 4.5% for the whole region. Trailer
volume, on the other hand, only
fell by 0.9%, reducing the overall
decline in this lane.

Fourth Quarter Regional Traffic Growth

Eastern Canada (EC)
Mountain Central (MC)
Midwest (MW)

4Q16
4Q 15-16
Units
Share Growth

302,808

306,117

1.1%

58,992

55,904

-5.2%

30% 1,183,593

29%

0.0%

1,183,394

Mexico (MX)

162,125

162,250

0.1%

Northeast (NE)

397,505

10%

415,400

10%

4.5%

Northwest (NW)

186,672

199,402

6.8%

South Central (SC)

307,405

303,390

-1.3%

Southeast (SE)

562,160

14%

565,896

14%

0.7%

Southwest (SW)

821,111

21%

827,311

21%

0.8%

Western Canada (WC)

330,337

334,856

1.4%

Seasonally Adjusted Volume Trends
SA INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

SA DOMESTIC

DOMESTIC

2,500,000
2,400,000

2,300,000
2,200,000

Seasonally Adjusted
Intermodal Volume

2,100,000
2,000,000

Seasonal adjustment removes the
normal seasonal variations in the
data to focus on underlying
quarter-to-quarter growth trends.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, both
domestic and international volumes
improved from Q3 to Q4. The increase
came as a relief, as international volumes had declined in both Q2 and Q3.
Domestic intermodal had only done
slightly better in Q4 with seasonally
adjusted volumes declining 1.9% in Q2
and gaining just 0.6% in Q3.
International volumes gained 4.2%,
which outpaced a 2.5% increase in
domestic shipments. However, the
smaller gain in domestic containers
was enough to push seasonally adjusted domestic volumes to a new record
high. In contrast, even with a gain of
4.2%, Q4 international was 5.9% below
their previous seasonally adjusted high.

4Q15
Units
Share

1,900,000
1,800,000
1,700,000

13Q3

14Q1

14Q3

15Q1

15Q3

16Q1

16Q3

Regional Traffic Results

both domestic containers and international. Much like in most other regions,
there was a gap between the growth
The Northwest and Northeast reof imports and international loads in
gions continued to outperform other
the Northwest. However, this gap was
regions in Q4. In fact, the Northwest
much smaller than in other regions:
region was the only region where
in Q4, imports through the Northwest
intermodal volumes posted a gain
gained 9.9%, while international traffic
for full-year 2016. 2016 volumes did
rose 7.8%.
decline in the Northeast, but only by
On the opposite end of the spec0.6%, a much smaller loss than the
trum, South Central and Mountain
2.1% recorded for total North American intermodal. Although both regions Central were the only two regions
outperformed in Q4, they did so in very that saw volumes decline in Q4. The
Mountain Central region is the smallest
different ways. Nearly all of the Northregion and shipments in this lane tend
east's growth was due to international
to be much more volatile than in other
traffic, which jumped an outstanding
12.8% in Q4. In contrast, the Northwest lanes. Growth in the South Central
region recorded very strong growth in region would have been positive, albeit

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics - 4th Quarter 2016