Intermodal and Drayage Market Update and Hot Lanes
Intermodal Market Update
Q2 US intermodal volumes were up 22% year-over-year (albeit against Covid-influenced comps). Rail terminals are busy, and in some markets, railroads are limiting capacity to help them catch up (e.g., the CSX Railroad has decreased reservations into the Chicago market as a way to deal with overwhelming volume). Many retailers are still struggling to increase inventory levels as demand for goods remains high. OTR trailer shortages and high OTR rates are pushing shippers to intermodal, but container capacity across the intermodal market remains tight. XPO Intermodal is in the process of adding an additional 250 containers this month to help with the capacity crunch!
If you are interested in pursuing capacity in the hot lanes or other lanes, please reach out to your XPO rep or contact us below.
Hot Lanes: Intermodal
| Origin Location | Destination Location | Rate |
| Chicago, IL | Stockton, CA | $2,400 |
| Chicago, IL | Los Angeles, CA | $2,000 |
| Chicago, IL | Dallas, TX | $2,625 |
| Chicago, IL | Laredo, TX | $2,100 |
| Chambersburg, PA | Los Angeles, CA | $2,075 |
| Chambersburg, PA | Stockton, CA | $2,450 |
| Syracuse, NY | Los Angeles, CA | $2,450 |
| Syracuse, NY | Stockton, CA | $2,750 |
| St. Louis, MO | Los Angeles, CA | $2,100 |
| St. Louis, MO | Stockton, CA | $2,650 |
Rates shown are inclusive of fuel, subject to XPO standard accessorials, effective from 07/19/21-08/13/21 and applicable for origin/destinations within 50 miles of the rail ramp.
Drayage Market Update
Despite ongoing port congestion, container and chassis shortages and labor shortages of dock and warehouse workers, inbound ocean shipment volumes remain high. Concerns about congestion has prompted the Union Pacific Railroad to temporarily embargo all international shipments from the West Coast into its Global IV terminal, causing further delays for thousands of shipments. XPO is offering a dray/transload/truck or intermodal solution that may potentially help with this situation. Please contact your rep for further details.
Drayage rates continue to rise with no ceiling in sight as competition for driver resources is at an all-time high. XPO Drayage is offering market competitive incentives to attract quality contractors into the drayage workplace. Additionally, XPO is expanding relationships with other carriers to provide capacity solutions in markets where our own capacity is fully utilized.
If you are interested in pursuing capacity in these or other markets, please reach out to your XPO rep or contact us below.
Why XPO
As one of the largest intermodal and drayage providers in North America, we have the capability to provide door-to-door freight management.
Our intermodal team focuses on building collaborative partnerships with our customers. We have Tier 1 rail partners, controlled capacity of private domestic containers and chassis and access to international containers for domestic shipments. Our service history spans over 30 years, with a presence at more than 80 rail ramps across North America, including cross-border movements between the US, Mexico and Canada.
For drayage services, we provide extensive high-quality capacity throughout a comprehensive national network of 42 operating locations. In addition to our national footprint, capacity and service reliability we are differentiated by our technology, and the experience of our leadership team. Our scale provides us with opportunities to solve large problems across multiple markets and foster long-term partnerships with customers.
Our proprietary Rail Optimizer system manages all aspects of drayage and intermodal operations and is integrated with our XPO Connect digital platform, for industry-leading connectivity with customers. Our scale allows us to capitalize on one of the most durable value propositions in transportation – that rail has a structural advantage over long-haul trucking as it’s less expensive, more fuel efficient, environmentally friendly and solves industry wide driver shortages.