Union Pacific posts 27% intermodal revenue jump as trucking tightens

Union Pacific booked a 27% year-on-year increase in intermodal revenue for the quarter to October, taking roughly $1.52bn, as volumes climbed 11% to 956,000 carloads. The carrier pointed squarely at shrinking trucking capacity as the driver behind the gains, and it wasn't alone: all four major North American intermodal operators reported revenue growth on the back of firmer domestic freight demand and a tightening truck market.

UP's domestic business delivered what EVP marketing and sales Kenny Rocker called its "fifth consecutive record quarter in volume and revenue."

"Our foundation of service, combined with strong business development and deployment of buffer resources enabled volume growth," Rocker said. "International intermodal volumes improved 8%, driven by west coast import volumes and business wins. In automotive, business wins offset continued market softness. We saw strength in auto parts driven by growth with our current OEMs."

What did the operational numbers show?

EVP operations Eric Gehringer said UP's intermodal service performance index finished the quarter at 92%, despite the 11% volume increase. The railroad responded to the improving freight market by "unstacking containers and utilising our buffer of resources," he noted — a concrete example of how carriers converted spare capacity into delivered service rather than letting growth degrade reliability.

CSX followed with intermodal revenue up 20% to $634m, on volumes up 7% at 820,000 units. The carrier credited new customer wins, fresh service offerings and the tighter trucking environment.

"Conversions from the highway remain strong, and the new service offerings through Birmingham, Myrtlewood, Baltimore, and other areas are performing well and attracting new business," said chief commercial officer Maryclare Kenney.

She flagged that international volumes stayed relatively flat during the quarter, but identified the completion of full double-stack clearances through the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore as a fresh opportunity to pull traffic onto rail. Looking ahead, she told investors: "We're very optimistic about the opportunities as we close this year and go into next on the domestic intermodal side," adding that trucking tightness could lift yields when they come up for renewal.

How did CPKC and CN diverge?

Canadian Pacific Kansas City posted intermodal revenue up 22% year on year at $583m, with volumes rising 9% to 489,800 carloads. Pricing did real work here: revenue per carload increased 12% to $1,190, meaning the Canadian operator grew both traffic and yield simultaneously.

CPKC also made headlines before its results landed with a fresh attempt to derail Union Pacific's proposed purchase of Norfolk Southern — an intervention described by Premium as "extraordinary." In a 30 October submission to the US Surface Transportation Board, CPKC urged the regulator to terminate its review of the deal, alleging UP's campaign for approval "had intimidated shippers and compromised the integrity of the proceeding."

The core issue, as CPKC framed it, is not whether a coast-to-coast network would raise rates or eliminate competitive routes, but "whether the STB can reach a trustworthy decision if the people who depend on the applicants for rail service are reluctant to testify against them."

Canadian National broke the pattern. It was the only one of the big four to record a volume decline, with box traffic falling 6% year on year to 542,000 teu — even as revenue rose 9% to $765m. CN attributed the drop to weaker international shipments through the ports of Halifax and Prince Rupert, with the upturn in Vancouver traffic too small to offset those losses.

The revenue resilience came from yield: income per RTM rose 12% on 2025 to a little over $6, which absorbed the volume shortfall — though not enough to give the big four a clean sweep of revenue and volume growth across the board.

With trucking capacity still tightening and CSX expecting yield uplifts at renewal, the question for practitioners is whether these record quarters mark a durable share shift from highway to rail or simply the high-water mark of a constrained truck market.