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During the second quarter, North American intermodal carriers and marketing companies posted a 4.4 percent volume increase compared with second-quarter 2002 — the fifth-straight quarterly gain despite long-sluggish U.S. and Canadian economies, according to Intermodal Association of North America's (IANA) most recent "Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics" report.

Quarterly domestic-container and international-container volume rose 4.6 percent and 11 percent, respectively, while trailer volume dropped 0.4 percent compared with the same 2002 period. In western Canada, quarterly international-container volume increased 21 percent.

Although six of North America's seven largest intermodal-volume corridors recorded quarterly growth compared with second-quarter 2002, the corridors grew more slowly compared with 2003's first quarter, IANA said. The Midwest-Northwest and South Central-Southwest corridors increased volume 16.2 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, while the Southeast-Midwest corridor recorded the only volume drop at 1.5 percent.

For intermodal marketing companies (IMCs), total loads decreased 0.1 percent during the quarter but revenue increased 5.4 percent compared with second-quarter 2002. However, IMCs' total loads rose 2.5 percent and revenue, 5 percent, compared with the first quarter, IANA said.