IANA: Intermodal freight slump in second quarter represents “floor” of decline
Trade group says 11.9% drop shows impact of pandemic economic downturn.
Showing the strain of coronavirus shutdowns and closures, U.S. intermodal freight volumes slumped sharply in the second quarter of 2020, but the sector is now poised for a recovery in future months, according to a report from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Total intermodal volumes dropped 11.9% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020, statistics from Calverton, Maryland-based IANA’s Intermodal Quarterly report showed. That figure included a drop of 15.4% in international shipments, 7.0% in domestic containers, and 14.0% in domestic trailers, all compared to the same quarter last year.
“Second quarter results showed the full impact of the economic downturn attributed to Covid-19. Slowing imports and declining diesel prices affected both international and domestic volumes,” Joni Casey, IANA’s president and CEO, said in a release. “We anticipate that the Q2 drop-off should be a floor going forward."
The results follow similar reports of pandemic-triggered drops in trucking rates and volumes, canceled container ship sailings at maritime ports, and plummeting air freight markets.
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