Intermodal shipping moves freight in a single container across more than one mode, typically rail for the long-haul portion and truck for the first and last mile, instead of one truck running the entire distance. For much of the past four years, that trade-off wasn't worth it. Truckload capacity was plentiful, rates were competitive, and the speed advantage of over-the-road transportation usually outweighed whatever intermodal could save.
That dynamic has changed almost overnight, as truckload capacity tightens and rates climb toward record levels, shippers, CPG shippers among the most active, are revisiting intermodal to reduce transportation spend. What began as a gradual shift has quickly become one of the more significant mode changes the industry has seen in several years, creating both new opportunities and new planning challenges heading into peak season for a CPG shipping base that's already managing tight margins elsewhere in the network.
Transportation markets rarely move in a straight line. Following years of excess truckload capacity, the industry has seen a rapid tightening as carriers exit the market and cost pressures increase. The numbers back this up: U.S. truckload spot rates hit $3.83 per mile in early June 2026, a record that surpassed the COVID-era peak, according to FreightWaves' SONAR National Truckload Index. Tender rejections climbed to 17.55% around the same period, meaning carriers were turning down over one in six contracted loads to chase higher-paying spot freight instead. The Logistics Managers' Index recorded a Transportation Prices reading of 96.0, the highest for any metric in the index's nearly ten-year history.
The result has been a sharp rise in rejected tenders and truckload rates across many long-haul lanes. In many cases, lanes that were marginally favorable for intermodal a year ago have become compelling conversion opportunities almost overnight, including lanes carrying CPG freight where margin is already thin enough that a mode shift shows up directly on the bottom line.
A lane from Columbus, Ohio to Southern California is one example your team has flagged internally. Historically, intermodal generated approximately $1,000 in savings per load compared to truckload on that route. Today, those same shipments can produce savings approaching $3,000 per load, that specific figure comes from ODW's own lane analysis rather than a published industry source, so treat it as illustrative of the scale of the shift rather than a number to publish as an independently verified statistic.
As truckload costs rise, the financial case for intermodal has become increasingly clear. Previously, intermodal has been most attractive on shipments exceeding 1,500 miles, particularly freight moving between the Midwest and West Coast. As truckload pricing continues to climb, shippers are finding opportunities in lanes that previously favored truckload, including portions of the Northeast and Southeast.
Speed matters less for long-haul freight when a shipper can adjust planning cycles and extend transit time, and for CPG shippers moving shelf-stable products on relatively predictable replenishment cycles, that adjustment is often easier to make than it looks on paper. Intermodal has become a real lever for transportation cost reduction specifically because the freight moving on these lanes, packaged goods, dry grocery, non-perishable retail product, tends to tolerate the added transit days without a service consequence.
The most important reality for shippers right now is that intermodal pricing has not increased at the same pace as truckload pricing. National average retail diesel prices reached $5.35 per gallon in early June 2026, up $1.90 year over year, and the average van fuel surcharge jumped from 41 cents to 61 cents per mile between February and March 2026 alone, according to DAT Freight & Analytics, a roughly 50% increase in a single month. Truckload rates have absorbed those cost increases directly.
Rail pricing has not moved at the same rate. Some intermodal providers have introduced peak-season surcharges and modest rate increases in high-demand lanes, but rail pricing has remained comparatively stable, benefiting from long-term capacity commitments that truckload carriers don't have in the same way. This widening gap is what is fueling today's mode conversions. What was once a 10% transportation savings opportunity has become a 25% to 40% savings opportunity in some lanes. For transportation leaders under pressure to reduce cost without sacrificing service, intermodal is once again a strategic option worth a real evaluation, not just a talking point.
Intermodal freight volume backs this up at the network level. The Association of American Railroads reported weekly intermodal volume of 292,743 containers and trailers for the week ending May 23, 2026, up 11.5% compared to the same week in 2025, with year-to-date intermodal units up 1.4% through the first 20 weeks of 2026. That's a meaningfully busier network than it was a year ago, which matters for the planning conversation in the next section.
Intermodal is not a perfect fit for every shipment, and pretending otherwise sets shippers up for a bad first experience with the mode. A truckload shipment from Ohio to Southern California can often arrive in four to five days. The same shipment moving intermodal may require eight to eleven days, depending on network conditions and rail congestion. That extended transit time is the primary trade-off, and for CPG shippers running tight replenishment windows with a specific retailer, it's the first thing to model honestly before committing volume to the mode.
Many shippers are discovering that the answer isn't to reject intermodal outright, but to improve planning around it. The companies seeing the most success are building additional lead time into orders, forecasting inventory more effectively, using warehouse operations to ship earlier where the network allows it, and working collaboratively with retail customers on delivery windows rather than assuming the current window is fixed. When the transportation plan adjusts accordingly, the additional transit time often becomes manageable while the cost savings remain significant.
As more freight shifts to rail, intermodal networks are carrying increased volume, and that shows up as longer transit times in specific lanes. Some lanes that previously averaged eight-day transit times are now closer to ten or eleven days because of congestion at key rail hubs. Containers may spend additional time waiting for outbound rail capacity, particularly in major interchange markets such as Chicago.
That congestion deserves attention, but today's environment is a different animal than what the industry experienced immediately after the pandemic. Post-COVID supply chains were overwhelmed by import surges that flooded ports, rail ramps, and distribution networks all at once, and containers that should have moved in days sometimes sat for weeks or months. Today's congestion is more manageable by comparison. Networks are busier, but rail providers are generally operating in a healthier environment than they were during the worst of the pandemic-era disruption, which is part of why volume is climbing without the kind of network breakdown that made intermodal a liability in 2021 and 2022.
Cost savings dominate most intermodal conversations, but security is one of the mode's more underrated advantages, and cargo theft has become a bigger problem than it was even two years ago. Estimated cargo theft losses surged to nearly $725 million in 2025, a 60% increase from 2024. Freight fraud, cargo theft, and shipment impersonation schemes continue to challenge truckload networks specifically, since every shipment traveling thousands of miles over the road introduces multiple opportunities for theft, fraud, or diversion along the way.
Intermodal shipments operate differently. Containers move through controlled rail networks, stay sealed for much of the journey, and often travel in double-stacked configurations that make unauthorized access more difficult. For CPG brands moving higher-value personal care or specialty food products, that added layer of security can be a real risk-mitigation benefit on top of the cost case, not just a footnote to it. As cargo theft continues to draw industry attention, transportation leaders are starting to evaluate intermodal as a risk strategy and as a cost strategy.
Intermodal offers a compelling case, but successful conversions require preparation, and skipping this step is the most common reason a mode switch goes badly. The vibration and movement associated with rail transportation can create real problems for some products if loads aren't properly secured. Shippers may need to invest in enhanced blocking, bracing, airbags, or packaging improvements to prevent load shifts during transit, particularly for CPG categories like glass containers, delicate packaging, or products sensitive to temperature swings inside a container.
Before making a mode switch, organizations should evaluate product stability, packaging design, pallet configuration, load securement methods, and customer service expectations tied to delivery timing. A thoughtful implementation plan, built with a transportation team that understands both the mode and the product, helps ensure that cost savings aren't offset by product damage or service disruptions down the line.
Is intermodal cheaper than truckload right now? On many long-haul lanes, yes, and the gap has widened through 2026 as truckload spot rates hit record highs while intermodal pricing has stayed comparatively stable. The size of the savings depends heavily on lane and distance, with the strongest case still on shipments over 1,500 miles.
How much longer does intermodal take compared to truckload? Typically three to six additional days on a long-haul lane, though this varies by network congestion and specific rail corridor. A shipment that takes four to five days by truck might take eight to eleven days intermodal, depending on conditions at the rail ramps involved.
What types of freight are best suited for intermodal? Freight that can tolerate a longer transit time without a service consequence, such as shelf-stable CPG products, dry grocery, and general retail goods on a replenishment cycle rather than a just-in-time delivery requirement. Products sensitive to vibration, temperature swings, or tight delivery windows need more evaluation before converting.
Is rail congestion as bad as it was after COVID? No. Current congestion is real in specific lanes and hubs, particularly around Chicago, but it doesn't resemble the multi-week delays seen during the 2021 and 2022 import surge. Rail providers are operating in a healthier capacity environment than they were during that period.
How should a shipper decide which lanes to convert to intermodal first? Start with lanes over 1,500 miles carrying freight that already tolerates flexible delivery windows, since that's where the cost gap is widest and the transit-time trade-off is easiest to absorb. A lane-by-lane cost and transit-time analysis, not a blanket policy, produces the best results.
Does switching to intermodal require different packaging? Sometimes. Products without a history of rail movement should be evaluated for load securement, since the vibration profile of rail differs from over-the-road trucking. Enhanced blocking, bracing, or airbags are common adjustments, and they're worth budgeting for before converting volume, not after a damage claim.
Is intermodal actually more secure than truckload? Directionally, yes. Sealed containers moving through controlled rail networks reduce some of the theft and diversion opportunities that come with a single truck traveling thousands of road miles, though intermodal isn't risk-free and security should be one factor in the mode decision, not the deciding one on its own.
The transportation market is going through a real mode shift, and the economics are becoming difficult to ignore. As truckload capacity tightens and rates climb, intermodal is re-emerging as a strategic option for shippers, CPG shippers especially, looking to control cost without sacrificing supply chain reliability. Transit times remain longer than truckload, but the potential savings, often measured in thousands of dollars per shipment, are driving more transportation leaders to take a real look at rail.
The organizations getting the most out of this shift aren't treating it as a truck-versus-rail decision. They're treating it as a supply chain planning exercise, one lane at a time, supported by the same network analysis tools that inform ODW's broader cost takeout work. Shippers willing to adjust lead times, sharpen forecasting, and evaluate their network lane by lane are finding that intermodal isn't just an alternative mode anymore. It's becoming a real competitive advantage. Talk to ODW's freight brokerage team about which of your lanes are the strongest candidates for conversion, explore more in ODW's logistics resources, or schedule a discovery call to review your network more broadly.