“The North American intermodal market maintained a positive growth trajectory in the third quarter of 2025, despite increasing volatility and economic headwinds,” according to the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) quarterly report, released Nov. 19 (download below).
The three months ending September 2025 “extended the strong performance seen in the first half of the year,” the Association said. Total intermodal volumes rose 2.8% year-over-year, with international containers up 4.4%, domestic containers up 2.5%, and trailers down 18.7%.
Loadings approached 4.8 million for the quarter, which IANA said is “a level not seen” since second-quarter 2021.
Among the report’s key highlights:
- “Domestic container traffic recorded its highest September volume ever, rising 5.8% year-over-year. This segment’s strong growth was supported by increasing manufacturing activity and a successful capture of modal share from trucking, which experienced low rates and high operating costs.”
- “July saw record volumes as domestic suppliers ‘frontloaded’ in anticipation of tariff increases, with rapid weakness following in August. This volatility caused overall annual growth for IPI to slow to just 0.6% year-over-year in September.”
- “Despite a current sluggish freight environment, future tightening in the trucking market is expected to significantly benefit domestic intermodal. Pressures like a surge in insurance premium costs and declining Class 8 truck orders are aligning to constrain the available driver supply and fleet capacity.”
The Association noted that “[g]rowth became more challenging as the quarter progressed due to” three factors:
- “A significant month-over-month decline of 3.7% in September’s total intermodal originations.
- “Slowing job and income growth and rising inflation due to tariffs, which may have weighed on consumer spending.
- “Tougher comparisons to the late surge in 2024 and the early 2025 import frontloading.”
“The North American intermodal market has shown notable resilience this quarter, extending a positive growth trajectory despite increasing volatility and economic headwinds,” IANA Director of Economics Andrew Sibold said. “Domestic intermodal may see the greatest opportunity going forward as trucking conditions tighten.”
“While total North American intermodal moves were up [3.8%] through the first nine months of 2025, the fourth quarter will be the most challenging of the year,” added Anne Reinke, President and CEO of IANA.
