June intermodal volumes posted strong annual gains, according to data provided to LM by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Total June volume, at 1,639,677 units, posted an 11.6% annual gain, far outpacing a 4.4% annual May gain.
Trailers, at 41,294, headed up 19.4% annually, and domestic containers, at 799,069, posted a 15.6% annual gain. All domestic equipment, which is comprised of trailers and domestic containers, at 840,363, rose 15.8% annually. ISO, or international, containers, at 799,314, headed up 7.5%.
Through the first six months of 2026, IANA reported that total volume, at 9,365,178, increased 2.5% annually. Domestic containers, at 4,540,122, were up 7.4% annually, and trailers, at 233,272, saw a 2.8% annual gain. All domestic equipment, at 4,773,394, was up 7.2%. ISO containers were the lone sector to see a decline, at 4,591,784, for a 1.9% annual decrease.
Earlier this month, IANA’s North America Intermodal Volume Index (IVI) pointed to solid market conditions.
The North America IVI made its debut in May, with IANA describing it as a measure of industry activity that provides a “most likely” estimate of current market conditions, with IANA adding that the IVI
The July IVI estimate, at 106.8, came in below June’s 107.7 reading, while marking its second-highest 2026 reading. In explaining the IVI’s methodology, IANA said that the IVI “gauges what is happening right now—before the official monthly figures are published.” And it added that it translates a high-frequency freight activity onto the same scale as the published index, giving shippers, carriers and analysts an early snapshot of current-month demand.
On a recent IANA-hosted, IANA Director of Economics Andrew Sibold said that the impact of the Iran conflict has been significant for domestic intermodal
With fuel prices having seen significant gains over the course of the Iran conflict, Sibold said that intermodal has seen some gains, with industry stakeholders’ modal shifts from long-haul trucking to intermodal.
Addressing the slight year-to-date volume gains, he explained that a year ago at this time, there was still a fair amount of tariff-driven pull-forward activity, which impacted annual comparisons.
“With a high domestic share, that is kind of a structural thing, where there is a lot of international weakness, due to some imports being swapped out for some of the domestic freight,” said Sibold.
To that end, he explained that what is happening now represents a break in kind of how intermodal has historically worked, given the overall rise in domestic and domestic ostensibly overtaking international as the big structural shift.
“Probably the most straightforward answer to it is the effect of the price shock and also the drop in imports coming from tariffs that could also be debated,” he said. “It’s not quite certain whether the diesel price is actually driving the switch, so this could be largely tariff-driven.”
