It’s no secret that the vast majority of freight moves within North America occur over the road. But it’s worth pointing out that intermodal may surprise as a superior option for a great many of those – offering the bonus of cost savings and a far lighter environmental footprint.
Intermodal transport is a combination of railroad for the long haul and road for the short-haul (to and from rail ramps) that still offers door-to-door service only slightly behind truck in transit time. A typical lane can offer anywhere from 8 to 15% lower rates than truck, while also causing lower emissions and lowering congestion on the nation’s highways.
The top intermodal lanes are likely not too surprising, but there are several routes across the country that offer excellent road plus rail service that shippers may not have considered before. In other words, they have the makings of a good intermodal lane due to rail proximity and length of haul. And taking advantage of these opportunities is not as hard as many perceive. It’s as simple as a few clicks or a phone call to get in touch with an intermodal marketing company (IMC).
To let you in further on the secret of intermodal, we’re here to open your eyes to a dozen examples of lanes that can offer reliable capacity at reduced prices and improved environmental efficiency. After you read through our list, if you don’t see one of yours included, don’t fret. Just enter your contact information below, and we’ll help run your routes through our intermodal optimizer to find the best fit(s).
Top Trucking Lanes for Intermodal Conversion
There are obvious freight lanes that offer both trucking and intermodal service, but this list is focused on those combinations that may have fallen under the radar – covering just about every corner of the country. The following origin-destination pairs are in no particular order, but all offer options for a wide variety of industries located in their surrounding areas:
Atlanta to Seattle
Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami) to Los Angeles Area
Denver to Chicago
Massachusetts (Springfield, Worcester) to Los Angeles Area
Chicago to Laredo, Texas (Mexico border)
Memphis to Los Angeles Area
Portland to Chicago
Dallas to New York/New Jersey
Salt Lake City to Chicago
New York/New Jersey to Oakland
Charlotte to Los Angeles Area
Los Angeles Area to Kansas City
Each of the above lanes can be counted on for consistent capacity and cost savings – with most offering a wide variety of drayage options to get containers to and from ports, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, retailers, etc. And again, if your business is not located within 100 miles or so of one of these cities, there are many other rail ramps at places that didn’t make this particular list that still offer reliable intermodal service.
Simply reach out to us and we’ll be happy to go over your options and help you dip your toes in the proverbial intermodal waters to help you decide how well it fits into your shipping and logistics strategy. In the meantime, if you’re still looking for more information on intermodal, or freight and logistics in general, check out our Freight Guides.
