Full-year 2020 and fourth quarter intermodal volumes were mixed, for various reasons largely related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Intermodal Quarterly report, which was recently issued by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Total 2020 intermodal volume came in at 17,789,192, for a 2.0% annual decrease. Trailers—at 1,186,996—were off 3.3% annually, and domestic containers—at 7,837,713—headed up 3.5%. And the all domestic equipment category, which is comprised of trailer and domestic containers, saw a 2.6% increase, to 9,024,709. ISO, or international containers, slipped 6.2%, to 8,764,483.
IANA observed in the report that intermodal volumes saw declines over each of the first months of 2020, due to COVID-19-related issues, with improvements coming over the final four months of the year, as monthly gains, for that period, ranging between 6.8% and 13.8%, driven by the trio of strong import volumes, e-commerce activity, and tight trucking capacity.
For the fourth quarter of 2020, IANA reported that total volume—at 4,874,842—increased 9.6% annually, marking its biggest quarterly gain going back to the second quarter of 2014. And IANA noted that over the last four months of 2020, total intermodal volumes rose 9.4% compared to the same period in 2019, which, while strong, did not counter the 7.5% cumulative decline over the first eight months of 2020.
Boosted by e-commerce, fourth quarter trailer volume—at 343,637—saw a strong 17.5% annual gain, for its first double-digit increase since the third quarter of 2018. Domestic containers—at 2,128,885—were up 8.5%, and all domestic equipment—at 2,472,522—rose 9.8%. ISO containers—at 2,402,320—increased 9.4%. Prior to the fourth quarter gain for ISO containers, volume for that segment had seen annual declines for five straight quarters, with IANA saying that international growth was boosted by double-digit international and import growth over November and December.
IANA President and CEO Joni Casey explained that with 2020 being an irregular year, in terms of volume fluctuations and challenging market conditions, there was what she called a continued resiliency in service despite unavoidable issues based on unprecedented traffic volumes. And in terms of one of the biggest lessons learned as the intermodal sector went from minimal growth to a bustling end of the year, she said that: “One takeaway is the need for better communications across the supply chain to plan proactively for asset allocation and capacity management.”
And on the domestic front she said that domestic containers were the one market sector that was up for the year and is likely to continue based on the transloading of import volumes, at least through the first quarter of this year.
“Intermodal trailers picked up a percentage of the large number of e-commence shipments,” she said. “With consumer spending starting to slow, it’s uncertain whether this segment will continue to see the level of growth that it did the second half of 2020.”
While ISO container volume finished 2020 strongly, Casey said that unavoidable congestion has tempered the flow of intermodal volumes “downstream,” allowing accommodations to be made, when possible, to handle increasing amounts of freight, such as technologies allowing better visibility and terminal incentives.
When asked what the expectations are for 2021 intermodal volumes, Casey said things could go in a few different directions, depending on how things shake out.
“Import levels are expected to be strong thru Q1 of 2021, which will feed into domestic intermodal volumes,” she said. “There is also a potential upside for freight demand if another stimulus package is passed. On the other hand, with more wide spread vaccinations, consumer spending could turn more towards services vs. purchases of items.”