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TransportNewsCA · US · MX corridorFreight markets and cross-border tradeWednesday, November 4, 2026
Ports & Rail

Schneider moves its main eastern intermodal business to Norfolk Southern

The carrier brings about 26,800 containers and 23,900 chassis to NS's 22-state network, where intermodal volume rose 3% in the third quarter.

By Transport News Staff ·
A Norfolk Southern intermodal train carrying containers heads west past Bound Brook station in New Jersey.
Photo: 4300streetcar / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Schneider National is moving its primary eastern U.S. rail business to Norfolk Southern.

The two companies announced a strategic intermodal agreement on Oct. 29. "As we transition our primary eastern rail provider to Norfolk Southern, we'll expand access to key markets, increase network flexibility and create new opportunities to better serve our customers," said Michael Baumgardt, Schneider's executive vice president of intermodal and logistics.

Neither release named the railroad Schneider is moving from or gave a date for the switch.

What each side brings

Schneider

  • About 23,900 chassis and 26,800 containers, plus company-owned tractors.
  • More than 60 intermodal rail hubs across North America.
  • Company drivers who handle more than 90% of its domestic dray moves.
  • 35 years in intermodal.

Norfolk Southern

  • A 22-state intermodal network in the eastern U.S.
  • Intermodal volume up 3% in the third quarter of 2026, which the railroad credits to steady consumer demand, the truck market and network improvements.

Where NS is spending

Norfolk Southern says it is investing ahead of demand. Projects it lists include:

  • A new Cincinnati–Atlanta service.
  • Double-stack clearance work on the East Edge route linking the Midwest and New England.
  • Terminal expansions in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Illinois.
  • Pavement, lighting, storage, truck access and security upgrades at Atlanta, Louisville, Harrisburg, Croxton, Chesapeake, Charlotte, Chicago and St. Louis.

"Customers are taking a broader view of intermodal than ever before, and we are investing ahead of that demand," said Ed Elkins, NS executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

Why it matters for truckload

Both companies pitch the deal as a way to convert over-the-road freight to rail. Schneider says NS's reach will help it win new freight and "convert truckload shipments to intermodal."

For truckload carriers in the East, that means more competition on long-haul lanes into Atlanta, Charlotte and the Ohio Valley. It also means more dray work around the NS ramps named above. Truck turn times at those terminals are one of the things NS says it is trying to fix.

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