News / Mixed fortunes in Q1 for North American intermodal operators

It was something of a mixed bag for the North American intermodal scene in Q1, with Canadian National (CN) and CSX the only operators to record an uptick in revenue – their competitors experiencing a period to forget.

Of the two, CSX had the stronger showing, as revenue and volumes climbed 5% (to $518m) and 6% (to 757,000 carloads) year on year, respectively; CN finding itself with a 1% volume dip and a 4% revenue bounce, to $707m (C$962m).

CSX EVP sales and marketing Mary Claire Kenny told investors the intermodal business had “good momentum”, supported by “tighter trucking supply and higher diesel prices creating tailwinds for freight conversions”.

She said CSX “felt good about domestic intermodal business, with truck conversion opportunity and new services”, with chief operating officer Michael Cory adding that additional volumes were not hampering operational performance.

Meanwhile, Union Pacific (UP) saw volumes drop 6% year on year, to 975,000 carloads, and revenue down 5%, to $1.6bn, and it seems getting its proposed Norfolk Southern (NS) merger past the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) has not been the only thing the rail operator struggled with in the opening months of 2026.

Refiling the merger application with the STB last week, UP and NS claimed the $85bn deal would save shippers more than $3.5bn and would take around 2.1m trucks off US roads as a consequence of shippers favouring their joint rail offering.

Despite its own and NS’s poor Q1 performance – NS recorded a 1% year-on-year revenue decline, to $749m, and 4% volume drop, to 980,600 carloads – UP CEO Jim Vena said intermodal would be a “large piece of the growth” from the merger.

Mr Vena told investors: “It will give customers optionality between rail and truck. Committed gateways give western and eastern railroads a set price they can offer customers in the identified products.

“We have said we will keep every gateway open. If someone wants to get to the south-east through CSX at New Orleans, they can – it is the faster road in some markets. Why would we limit that?”

Even so, a coalition has formed to try and impede the President Trump-backed deal getting through, with concerns that its marketshare – combined, 39% – resulting in poorer service, givinging shippers limited alternatives.

Comprising among others the American Chemistry Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, BNSF, CPKC, and Teamsters Rail Conference, the opposition coalition is arguing that the deal would also put pressure on rates.

CPKC – itself a merged railroad operator – joined the roll call of North American intermodal operators to experience a poor start to the year, its Q1 intermodal revenue down 3% year on year, to $481m, with volumes down 1%, to 431,100 carloads.