U.S. intermodal volume grew 14.7 percent in 2010 in a strong recovery from the steep downturn the year before that included an 18.5 percent rebound in international container volume, according to Intermodal Association of North America figures released Tuesday.

The international box volume grew 16.9 percent in the fourth quarter, maintaining a strong pace even as domestic container growth slipped back to 8.9 percent in the last three months of the year.

Overall intermodal container volume grew 12.8 percent in the last quarter of 2010, IANA said, pushing the industry past the levels the association reported in 2008, before the economic downturn sent volume diving.

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