From the Editor — Q3 earnings calls: Intermodal earned it

Intermodal’s moment in the sun continues as volumes and revenues remain stronger than strong, as Managing Editor Jeff Stagl reports this month.

Additional evidence of said strength surfaced during the Class I’s third-quarter earnings calls during the last week of October. Here’s a sampling:

• Union Pacific Railroad in Q3 recorded a 13% increase in domestic intermodal volume compared with the same 2025 quarter, UP Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker said during the Class I’s Oct. 22 call. He credited business development efforts, solid service, previously completed facility investments and the use of buffer resources for the quarterly increase, the railroad’s fifth-consecutive quarterly record. Intermodal volumes increased 8% on strong West Coast import volumes and “business wins,” Rocker added.
• For Norfolk Southern Railway, Q3 volume increased 3%, reflecting strong freight demand and tight trucking conditions, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer Ed Elkins said during the railroad’s Oct. 22 call. Minus fuel costs, intermodal revenue increased by 7%. A “large part” of the growth was driven by highway-to-rail conversions, President and CEO Mark George added.
• CSX leaders said reduced trucking availability, along with high trucking rates and diesel costs, continued to boost the Class I’s intermodal prospects. In Q3, total intermodal volume was up 7% year over year, reaching an all-time record, SVP and Senior Commercial Officer Maryclare Kenney said during the Class I’s Oct. 21 call.
• For CPKC, Q3 intermodal revenue increased 21% on 10% volume growth in what EVP and Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks termed an all-time record performance during an Oct. 28 call. Domestic intermodal volume was up 7% compared with Q3 2025’s total. Reasons for the increases? Strong performance across CPKC’s Canadian domestic lanes, and continued strength in U.S. lanes and Mexico cross-border service. One example: The CPKC-CSX Southeast Mexico Express premium intermodal service product posted a 30% volume increase. On the international front, volumes increased 11%.

NS, Schneider partner to boost intermodal capacity

Meanwhile, Class Is continued to offer up evidence that they’re prepping for even more growth on the domestic intermodal front. After announcing an expansion at its Rickenbacker Intermodal Facility in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 1, NS on Oct. 29 unveiled a strategic agreement with Schneider to expand domestic intermodal capacity in the eastern United States.

“As we transition our primary eastern rail provider to Norfolk Southern, we’ll expand access to key markets, increase network flexibility and create new opportunities to better serve our customers,” said Michael Baumgardt, Schneider’s EVP of intermodal and logistics, in a press release.

Added NS’ Elkins: “Customers are taking a broader view of intermodal than ever before, and we are investing ahead of that demand. ... We are creating new opportunities to move freight across North America and make rail a stronger part of the domestic supply chain.”