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Intermodal savings set another record amid truckload rate hikes

By Ari Ashe

US shippers saved a record 34.1 % on spot market freight and 30 % on contract loads in the second quarter by using domestic intermodal instead of long-haul trucking, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index( ISI).

Savings hit record levels in the spot market for the second straight quarter as truckload capacity tightened amid the regulatory crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’ s licenses and English language proficiency. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court’ s May decision in the Montgomery case prompted some logistics providers to purge their database of questionable carriers, which put further strain on the thin driver pool.

Elevated diesel prices due to the war in Iran also contributed to the increase in truckload rates.

Contract intermodal savings also widened as assetbased truckload carriers reopened agreements signed in the first quarter to raise prices. Shippers had little choice as tender rejection rates spiked, causing them to scramble to find trucks or new intermodal capacity to cover loads.

Intermodal contract rates have begun to move upward already, as the top intermodal providers reject tenders that no longer make economic sense to them. When shippers go deeper into their intermodal routing guides, they must pay more to procure capacity.

North American railroads hauled more than 2.35 million domestic containers and trailers in the second quarter, surpassing the previous quarterly record of 2.30 million loads set in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Intermodal Association of North America( IANA).

Domestic volume increased 10.9 % year over year in the quarter, the highest growth rate since the second quarter of 2021. Excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the highest growth rate since the end of 2013.

J. B. Hunt Transport Services, the largest US intermodal provider, said conversion activity reached levels not seen in more than a decade. It hauled a record of 578,000 loads during the second quarter, up 10 % from a year earlier.

Railroads and private-asset-owning intermodal marketing companies( IMCs) responded to the surge by returning idled containers to service as quickly as possible. Many of those boxes had been stacked since being purchased during the pandemic-related freight boom.

The Spot ISI averaged a record 134.1 in the second quarter, up 14.7 % from a year earlier, which translates to average intermodal savings of 34.1 % compared with truckload on the same lanes. Index values above 100 indicate intermodal is the most cost-effective mode. The higher the index value, the greater the savings. Monthly readings were 133.9 in April, 133.7 in May, and 134.7 in June.

Spot truckload rates on indexed lanes, including fuel, increased 40 cents from the end of March to $ 2.74 per mile in June. Spot intermodal rates rose 22 cents to $ 1.86 per mile during the same period.

The Contract ISI increased from 129.2 in April to 129.8 in May and 131.1 in June, producing a second-quarter average of 130.0, up 4.7 % from a year earlier. Average contract truckload rates increased 23 cents from the end of March to $ 2.48 per mile in June, including fuel, and contract intermodal rates rose only 7 cents to $ 1.72 per mile.

J. B. Hunt said the eastern US intermodal discount has widened beyond the typical 10 % to 15 % gap.

Intermodal providers are almost certainly going to push hard for rate increases on the few contracts re-bid in the second half, and then again on most freight that re-bids and becomes effective in the first quarter of 2027.

Spot intermodal savings set second straight quarterly record

Spot and Contract Intermodal Savings Indexes( ISIs), comparisons of average US intermodal rail and truckload rates, rolling 3-month average

ISI

140

130

100 120

110

100

90 L 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026

Spot ISI

Notes: Index base = 100; the higher the value, the greater intermodal savings compared with truckload

Source: Various sources

Contract ISI

40 Journal of Commerce | September 7, 2026 www. joc. com

September 7, 2026 | Page 40

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