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Last year, intermodal container volume set a new record at 12.4 million moves, beating the former record set in 2007 by a “noteworthy” 3.7 percent, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) latest Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report.

Total annual volume rose 4.9 percent to 14.1 million units compared with 2010, the second consecutive year-over-year volume gain, the report states. Domestic container volume climbed 9.6 percent to 5 million units, total domestic equipment volume increased 7.5 percent to 6.6 million units, trailer volume inched up 1.7 percent to 1.7 million units and international container volume crept up 2.8 percent to 7.5 million units.

In the fourth quarter, total volume increased 4.1 percent to 3.6 million units compared with fourth-quarter 2010’s total, the eighth-straight quarter of year-over-year volume gains, according to the report. Domestic container volume jumped 12.1 percent to 1.3 million units, total domestic equipment volume rose 7.9 percent to 1.8 million units and international container volume inched up 0.7 percent to 1.9 million units, while trailer volume dipped 3 percent to 432,623.

“Record fourth-quarter container volume was largely due to continued strength in domestic container loadings. Gains in domestic containers were solid in all IANA regions during the quarter,” IANA officials said in a prepared statement. “Big box domestic loadings of 48- and 53-foot domestic containers also posted their highest-recorded numbers in the fourth quarter and for the year, accounting for 39.8 percent of all container volume during 2011.”