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BNSF and UP intermodal volumes rose 11.6 % yoy from mid-May through mid-July. Scott Olson / Staff / Getty Images

Rising imports pose first post-pandemic test for Chicago chassis fleets

By Ari Ashe

Chassis availability is tightening at Chicago-area rail terminals as rising import volumes from the US West Coast move inland, testing whether equipment providers can keep the right units positioned at the right ramps.

The inland shortages remain far less severe than during the COVID-19 pandemic. But after nearly four years of relative stability, truckers and rail workers say equipment gaps are emerging at BNSF Railway’ s Logistics Park Chicago terminal in Elwood, Illinois, and Union Pacific

Intermodal train speeds slipping amid West Coast import wave

Rolling li four-week average of US Class I intermodal train speeds, in miles per hour mph

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Railroad’ s( UP) Global IV terminal in nearby Joliet.

“ We had 47 [ containers on their last free day ] between both ramps, and nothing was mounted,” said a trucking executive who asked not to be identified.“ We acquired 45 more private chassis, which are in use, and 30 will be delivered over the next two weeks. We also took delivery of 10 more tractors. It sounds great, but it is still not enough.”

A worker at Logistics Park Chicago said truck turn times remain normal during most parts of the day, even though the terminal is“ short on chassis.”

A second rail source who also did not want to be identified said the problem is less about the total number of chassis in Chicago than having the“ right wheels in the right place at the right time.”

That balance can break down at individual terminals. When a suitable chassis is unavailable, ramp workers may mount an ocean container on whatever equipment is at hand, even when the pairing violates an ocean carrier’ s equipment rules.

The trucker must then enter a“ flip” line before leaving the terminal, so the container can be transferred to an approved chassis, if operating under a carrier haulage agreement. During peak periods, that additional move can leave drivers waiting for hours, reducing the number of trips they can complete in a day.

‘ Appropriately fleeted’

The chassis tightening coincides with a broader increase in intermodal freight moving inland from West Coast ports. Combined intermodal volumes originating on BNSF and UP rose 11.6 % year over year during the eight-week period ending July 15, according to the US Surface Transportation Board( STB).

RailState data shows a similar trend in international intermodal freight originating in Southern California, with combined BNSF and UP volumes increasing 9.7 % over the same period. Neither dataset isolates shipments moving through Chicago, and the STB figures include both domestic and international intermodal freight.

Nevertheless, both data sets point to more freight on the western rail networks traveling inland. Data from

38 Journal of Commerce | August 3, 2026 www. joc. com