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After increasing 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter, North American intermodal volume totaling 3.37 million units rose 6.3 percent in the first quarter compared with the same 2005 period, according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) quarterly “Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics” report.

Volume has increased every quarter since second-quarter 2002, a nearly four-year period during which intermodal loads have risen by more than 500,000 units, the report states.

First-quarter domestic equipment volume totaling 1.39 million units increased 4.4 percent compared with first-quarter 2005. An 8.4 percent increase in domestic container volume drove the quarterly gain.

“As overall domestic container gains strengthened, the shift to longer 53-foot boxes continued,” IANA officials said in the report. “Fifty-three foot container volume increased 31 percent while 48-foot container loads fell.”

Meanwhile, international containers totaling 1.98 million units rose 7.6 percent compared with first-quarter 2005’s 1.84 million units.