Source: Intermodal Association of North America, www.intermodal.org.

American Intermodal Rail Traffic, 1999-2008

Recent rail transport trends in the United States underline a significant shift of intermodal traffic to the advantage of containerized freight. While rail intermodal container traffic (COFC), both ISO and domestic, has increased by 68% between 1999 and 2006, the number of trailers (TOFC) has actually declined by about 28% during the same time period. 58% of the containers handled in 2005 were international (maritime) containers, while domestic containers accounted for 23% and trailers 19%. About 25% of all international cargo moved by rail is transloaded into domestic containers. COFC traffic appears to have peaked in 2007 and declined in 2008 due to declining import demands.