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In the first quarter, intermodal volume totaled 3.3 million units, up 9 percent compared with first-quarter 2010 volume, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) latest “Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics” report.

International container traffic rose 9.6 percent to 1.76 million units, marking the fifth-straight quarterly increase, the report states.
 
“International gains were propelled by continued strength in imports as retail sales and consumer spending improved in the first quarter,” IANA officials said in the report.

Total domestic intermodal volume climbed 8.4 percent year over year to more than 1.5 million units. Domestic container volume increased 8.8 percent to more than 1.1 million units and trailer volume rose 7.5 percent to 412,221 units — the fourth consecutive quarterly uptick for trailers.

“Most notable is that 53-foot trailer loads posted a substantial 21.7 percent gain, the best performance for this category since first-quarter 2005,” IANA officials said. “Rapidly rising diesel prices may have helped shift some over-the-road volume to rail during the quarter.”
 
The most significant domestic container growth was registered in the Southeast (up 16.7 percent), followed by the South Central (15.5 percent) and Northeast (14.4 percent) regions, according to the association. The Southwest and Western Canada regions posted below-average increases in the quarter, the report states.
 
For the remainder of 2011, intermodal volume is projected to increase from 6 percent to 8 percent, “indicating that this should be a good year for all intermodal markets, especially as year-over-year comparisons bump-up against the strong gains of late 2010,” IANA officials said.